Soul Swap Redux
by StarlitDuck
Summary: A rewrite of Super Koopalings Episode 2: Soul Swap. While the basic plot is the same, I cleaned up the dialogue, the jokes, and added a few scenes to really strengthen the story. I am still keeping the original up so you guys can compare.
1. Snatcher in the Night

**AN: This is the first time I am rewriting one of my stories, and (spoilers) it won't be the last. I also plan on rewriting Power Surge, although I can't say when you guys will see that.**

**A few months ago, I had announced on my profile that I would be rewriting Soul Swap. At the time I was debating how much I meant that, but after careful consideration, I decided that this was something I **_**had**_ **to do. I am not happy with the original, and I realize I can improve upon it. I will be keeping the original up though, so you guys can compare and contrast. So, without further ado, here is Soul Swap Redux.**

Chapter 1 Snatcher in the Night

It was nights like these that put a person over the edge. The absence of the moon didn't go unnoticed, nor did the absence of sound. The streets of Stonebrim were the embodiment of unsettling on this moonless, silent night, and anybody with an inkling of sanity was sleeping in their house with the doors shut tight.

Of course, in his bed sleeping was exactly where a poor koopa troopa wanted to be. He worked in a toy store, a pleasant location under some circumstances but an absolutely frightening one under others. The darkness outside was creeping into the building, as the toy store did not have any electricity. The only light was the blue light of the troopa's phone, and even that wasn't enough to keep his inner fears at bay.

The troopa saw that it was 11:58 on his phone. His boss had told him that he could go home after midnight or whenever he finished cleaning the floors, whichever happened last. The troopa had finished dusting and polishing the floor about half an hour ago, so now he was having a staring contest with the screen. The last two minutes were the worst by far, as it felt like they were intentionally dragging themselves out.

11:59. The troopa checked the toy shelves one last time, just to be safe. The store sold a variety of different toys, but the ones that the troopa found most fascinating were the Koopaling plushies. The store had stocked Koopaling plushies after they had taken a customer survey. Many koopa children looked up to them on some level, which was funny when contrasted with the human and toad children who obviously did not.

12:00, midnight. The end of the shift.

"Finally," the troopa said. He let out a relieved laugh. "I am out of here."

The troopa got up from his stool and walked down the aisles, using his phone as a flashlight. He was just about to turn the corner and see the door when he heard the ringing of a bell. The troopa could hear the door being opened, and then closing abruptly. He didn't hear anyone come in, but he could hear someone moving down the aisles. Actually, it didn't really sound like a person; it sounded like a passing wind. Out of morbid curiosity, the troopa followed the sound. He thought he saw a figure moving down the aisle, but they moved too quickly for the troopa to get a full glance.

"Hey mister, the store closed two hours ago."

The closer he got to the mysterious figure, the more his unease grew. Soon that unease grew into fear, and that fear grew into dread.

"Maybe if you like you can check back in after sunrise?"

The koopa troopa turned the corner, a corner that lead him to a dead end. He shined his flashlight forward, and felt his heart stop. The figure wasn't a person. It was a shadow, a purple shadow. The shadow faced the koopa troopa, and he could see that it was his exact height and build.

"What the…?"

A ball of purple light formed in the shadows's hand, and it aimed it at the koopa troopa. The pain only lasted for a minute at most, but it was so intense that it felt like an eternity. Before he knew it, the koopa troopa was on his hands and knees panting.

"Oh, I'd love to take you up on that offer…"

The koopa troopa slowly looked up in fear, and when he did, he couldn't help but scream. He was looking at himself. Not a mirror, not a doppelganger; he was actually looking at himself! And the worst part? That version of himself was grinning at him cruelly.

"But I'm afraid that I'll be working here at this time."

The voice that came out of the troopa's throat wasn't his. It was deeper, grittier, more sinister and conniving. The koopa troopa, in a panic, examined his own hands. They were opaque, transparent. It looked like he had become a hologram projection. The troopa looked and saw that his entire body was in a similar state. Except….

The troopa gawked at the figure that had stolen his body. There was only one creature in the Mushroom World with this kind of power. The troopa hadn't believed it was real. He didn't _want_ to believe it was real.

"You're...you're a…!"

The snatcher grinned evilly at the troopa. That was all that the troopa had needed to confirm that his fears were correct. He scrambled to his feet and ran out of the store.

"Help! Someone help me! Please!"

He ran like he had never run before. He yelled like his life depended on it. For this creature...it was the most feared monster of all. It was the stuff of nightmares and horror stories. It had no good in its heart, in fact, it could be argued that it didn't have a heart at all. It was the harbinger of mischief, the imp of disharmony. And it had to be stopped.

…

The snatcher studied his new body with a smug hint of satisfaction. It wasn't anything special; the toy store employee was just a run of the mill koopa troopa. But that was fine. At least for now.

"Don't you worry little koopa troopa," the snatcher said as his victim ran off into the night. "You will get back what's rightfully yours in no time at all."

The snatcher walked back down the aisles. He found the aisle where the Koopaling plushies were being sold. His eyes scanned over them all before finally falling on a plushie of Ludwig. The snatcher stared at it greedily, hungrily.

"And I will get something I have been wanting for a long time. Something _very special_."


	2. All Fired Up

**AN: Hey guys, sorry about the delay. I just want to say I appreciate all the support I have been getting. I have high hopes for this rewrite and I don't want to disappoint. **

Chapter 2 All Fired Up

Humming always had a therapeutic quality to Ludwig, the eldest of the Koopalings. When he was lost in the world of music, he could forget about his troubles. He could let himself go, allow himself to be emotionally free. He could forget about his anger. He could forget about his powers.

Special koopas were dangerous, more dangerous than any other type of koopa. They were born with superpowers that were _very _strong. Ludwig had seen what his powers could do when he was only a child, and he had feared himself ever since. For while Ludwig tried to appear poised, he was always terrified that somehow, someway, he would lose control. Ludwig had four powers: flight, telekinesis, pyrokinesis, and electricity manipulation, and the last two were directly tied to his emotions. Or, to be more specific, his anger.

Given this, Ludwig supposed it was only natural that he would be so drawn to music, as well as other artforms in general. While he did see the practicality of arithmetic and engineering, it was art that really spoke to him. It was art that allowed him to be expressive; all numbers could express were equations. Ludwig's brother Iggy was the one who cared about the patterns, Ludwig was the one who cared about the freedom.

While he was humming, Ludwig was writing a song. The song itself was a vocal track, called "Walk on the Wild Side." Ludwig had always been told that he was a musical prodigy, but all the people who had told him that had only heard his instrumental pieces. Ludwig wanted to write a song with lyrics, if for no other reason than to prove to himself that he could. Ludwig always did appreciate a little self imposed challenge.

Anyway, Ludwig was leaning back in his bed and writing down the lyrics to his song, humming the melody all the while. It wasn't until he was almost finished that he noticed a flash of color out of the corner of his eye. He stopped humming, looked up, and saw Lemmy staring at him. Lemmy was sitting directly in front of Ludwig on the bed, and he was smiling brightly. Ludwig sighed grumpily.

"What?"

"Nothing," Lemmy replied, the grin refusing to fall from his face. "I just thought of another joke."

"Oh, good for you." Ludwig directed his attention back to the song.

"You're right; it is good!" Lemmy said happily. "Do you want to hear it?"

"No," Ludwig said bluntly, refusing to look at Lemmy. He reasoned that if he didn't make eye contact, Lemmy would eventually get the message.

"Come on! It's funny!"

Ludwig stopped writing and slowly looked up at Lemmy. Despite the fact that he was intentionally trying to look annoyed, Lemmy just beamed.

"Great!" Lemmy said. "Okay, why are the actors in a space themed movie so great?"

Ludwig's facial expression did not change. Lemmy, however, looked like he would bubble over with excitement.

"Go on, just guess!"

Ludwig, realizing that it would be less infuriating to just rip off the band-aid so to speak, sighed.

"Because their performances are 'out of this world?'" he asked. Lemmy's smile got even bigger, which to Ludwig didn't even seem possible.

"Yeah! That and their intricate costume designs help them to be the 'stars' of the show!"

Lemmy fell into giggles, which was typical of him after delivering a bad pun. Ludwig rolled his eyes. Why hadn't Lemmy picked up by now that he _really_ didn't like these? Ludwig broke out into sarcastic laughter.

"Ha ha ha, you're hilarious." He put his eyes on the paper once again. Surprisingly, Lemmy's laughter came to a halt.

"Really. I was trying to be more hi-_Lemmy_-ous!"

Lemmy giggled again, and Ludwig shook his head. Why...why did Bowser think it was a good idea to make the two of them share a room? What possessed the Koopa King to believe that Ludwig sharing a bedroom with Lemonade would possibly end well?

"Comedy gold," Ludwig said sardonically. With that, he got up from the bed and exited the room. He resumed with humming the melody, and while he did he found himself drawing back into his own head. It wasn't until he was halfway down the hall that he noticed that Lemmy was walking beside. Ludwig groaned loudly.

"What!?" he asked, adding an extra syllable.

"Nothing; I just like being around you." Lemmy noticed the paper in Ludwig's hand. "Whatcha got there?"

"Nothing," Ludwig said immediately.

"That doesn't look like nothing to me!" Lemmy said with a giggle.

"It's none of your business!" Ludwig said. Noticing that electricity was starting to crackle in the air, he turned and headed away from Lemmy.

"Oh come on; what is it?" Lemmy asked. "Is it a love letter?"

"No."

"Is it a cookie recipe?"

"No!"

"Is it a script for a cartoon? And are you gonna send it to a really famous animation company to get made, but end up getting rejected despite the fact that it is really good?"

"Uhhh…"

"And the rejection is gonna follow you for the rest of your life, so that while you are on your deathbed you will ask 'why didn't they pick my show? WHY DIDN'T THEY PICK IT!?"

Ludwig stared at Lemmy in bafflement. How...what...HUH? What made this even weirder was that Lemmy was holding on the dramatic face he had said the last sentence with.

"No!" Ludwig exclaimed. Lemmy's expression reverted back to normal.

"Oh, okay," he said nonchalantly. Ludwig resumed with walking down the hall, relieved that Lemmy had stopped talking. Unfortunately, Lemmy immediately let out a cry and grabbed hold of Ludwig's cloak.

"Oh please Ludwig, tell me what it is!"

Ludwig didn't know if Lemmy was honestly displaying what he felt or if he was exaggerating to be over dramatic. With Lemmy it was kind of hard to tell, as he reveled in performance art. Lemmy wanted to be a clown in a circus one day, and clowns were paid to be over the top. The problem was that Lemmy was already over the top in real life.

"Fine," Ludwig said in defeat. He turned back around. "I'm working on a song."

"A song?" Lemmy asked as he stood back up. "Is it another symphony?"

"No," Ludwig said. "It's a lyrical composition."

"Can I see?!" Lemmy exclaimed in excitement. Ludwig handed the paper to Lemmy, who studied it with sparkling eyes.

"Ooh, 'Walk on the Wild Side!'" He let out a laugh. "I haven't even heard it yet and I know it's catchy!"

Despite how much of a pest Lemmy had been, Ludwig couldn't help but smile at his compliment.

"Thanks," he said as he took the paper back.

"Can you sing it for me?" Lemmy asked gleefully. While Ludwig had been humming it to himself the entire time, he shook his head.

"Not right now." When Lemmy's face fell into devastation, Ludwig decided to offer an explanation. "It's not ready to be sung yet. You see, it is currently written in D Minor, but I want it to have a more uplifting sound. I'm considering switching to a major chord, but I don't know which one will give me the feeling I want. I need to experiment."

Ludwig wasn't making anything up; this was the actual reason. He had never played a song to anyone unless he was one hundred percent satisfied with it, even his siblings. He started descending the stairs that would take him to the east wing's first level.

"Hey!" Lemmy exclaimed when Ludwig was halfway down the stairs. Ludwig looked and saw him mount the railing.

"I just had the best idea ever!" Lemmy exclaimed as he started to slide down. Unfortunately he was unable to stop, so when he reached the bottom he crashed. Ludwig gasped and flew down the rest of the stairs. He knelt down beside his immediate younger brother.

"Lemmy, are you alright?" he asked in his concern. Lemmy looked a little disoriented as he put his hand to head.

"Yeah," he said a little woozily. He seemed to shake off the daze and smiled at Ludwig. "Why don't I help you write it?"

When Lemmy voiced that question Ludwig was stunned. When he recovered he snickered.

"You?" he asked with a little grin, not sure whether to take this seriously.

"Yeah!" Lemmy said happily. "I've never written a song before!"

So Lemmy was serious after all. Ludwig slowly got back up, his face bearing the trademarks of hesitance.

"Uhh, I don't think you would like doing that."

Lemmy got up and looked at Ludwig with a puzzled expression.

"Why not? You like writing songs."

"Well...I...I mean I..." Ludwig took in a breath, a stern and defiant look appearing on his face. "I don't want to write a song with you!"

"What?! Why not?"

Lemmy did sound genuinely disappointed, and Ludwig would be lying if he didn't find that a little disheartening. Nevertheless, he wasn't going to change his answer. There were a couple of reasons, one of which being a clash of artistic visions. Ludwig liked to put emotion into his music. He liked songs that were moving, songs that took the listener on a journey. Lemmy, on the other hand, liked to look at the bright side of life and ignore everything else. His style was extremely upbeat, especially when compared to Ludwig. The other reason was that Lemmy annoyed Ludwig to no end.

"Uh, because I value my sanity?"

"Why?" Lemmy asked. "I mean, with how crazy life can get, you're probably going to lose it before you turn thirty anyway!"

Ludwig's jaw dropped, and when he turned to face Lemmy he did it with a glare.

"Wow. You _really_ want to set me off today, don't you?"

"Come on Ludwig," Lemmy pleaded. "May I please write a song with you?"

"No! And that's my final answer!" Ludwig turned and started walking away, holding the song at his side.. To his complete shock, Lemmy snatched it out of his hand.

"Hey! Give that back!"

"Not until you say I can write a song with you!"

Ludwig gritted his teeth. He could already feel his pyrokinesis starting to make its presence known. Bright blue flames engulfed his hands.

"LEMMY!"

"Come on! You and I never do anything fun together! Please Ludwig?"

Ludwig's patience had just about reached its limit. His entire body was consumed by flames, and his eyes glowed white. Lemmy shrieked and broke out into a run. Ludwig moved above a bunch of objects to halt his progress, but Lemmy maneuvered his way around all of them. This only mad Ludwig madder.

"Morton, help!" Lemmy cried when they reached the throne room. Their dark skinned sibling approached carefully and watched stoically.

"Uh, I don't think this is necessary," he addressed Ludwig. "Or...safe, for that matter. So, can we knock it off? Please?"

Ludwig only growled, his glowing eyes aimed at Lemmy.

"I'll knock it off when he does!" he exclaimed. He started to approach the terrified Lemmy, but Morton got in the way.

"Enough!" His face was no longer stoic but frightened. "Ludwig, calm down!"

It was then that logic returned to the special. The flames around him disappeared as Morton gave a calm smile.

"Good. Now what is this about?" Ludwig sighed.

"Lemmy took my song. He wanted to help me write it but I said no."

Morton nodded in understanding and turned to Lemmy.

"Lemmy, it's Ludwig's song. That means he has every right to say no."

"But...but...what if he needs help? Even prodigies need help sometimes! After all, Koopthevoven was writing songs on his deathbed! I'm sure that some people helped him finish those songs!"

"That wasn't Koopthevoven!" Ludwig said as the annoyance returned. "That was SHELLZART!"

Ludwig tried to approach Lemmy, his hands covered in flame again. Luckily Morton stopped him again.

"Ludwig please!" Morton looked between the two. "Look, can you guys just stop this nonsense?"

Before either of them could respond, the door to the throne room opened. Ludwig, Lemmy, and Morton turned and saw an opaque koopa troopa enter.

"Oh please!" He exclaimed. "Can you help me? The three Koopalings were beyond shocked.

"Who...who are you?" asked Lemmy.

"What are you?" asked Ludwig. The troopa started to hyperventilate.

"I was attacked last night!" His eyes grew wide with fright. "By a duplighost!"

"What?" Ludwig exclaimed. "But...duplighosts don't exist!"

"That's what I thought too!" said the troopa. "Until one stole my body!"

Morton approached the troopa calmly.

"Don't worry. We'll help in anyway we can."


	3. Deadly Fury

Chapter 3 Deadly Fury

Stonebrim wasn't that far from Bowser's Castle. As a matter of fact, it was only a mile away from the castle. So, the walk to it did not take that long; twenty minutes at the most. However a lot was accomplished in those twenty minutes, as the troopa explained what he knew to the rest of the Koopalings.

The troopa was not handling the situation well. He was worried about what the duplighost would do, and his nervousness clearly showed. Ludwig in particular felt sympathetic towards him.

"We're almost to Stonebrim guys," said Iggy. As he said it, the others could see the east gate in the distance.

"Where do you think the duplighost is most likely to be?" Wendy asked the koopa troopa.

"I don't know!" he responded with a frightened inflection. "But he would most likely be doing something terrible!"

"Okay, try to calm down," Morton said gently. "We'll fight him for you."

"But how exactly are we gonna fight a duplighost?" asked Larry.

"Very carefully," Ludwig replied. From beside him, Lemmy let out a soft, happy laugh.

"I don"t think you're gonna have much of a problem with that, Ludwig," he said with a tone that sounded genuinely endearing. "After all, you're pretty much the best fighter there is."

This statement really grinded on Ludwig's patience. He could feel the pyrokinesis starting to act up again.

"Stop it Lemmy, I know what you're doing."

Lemmy looked surprised.

"You do?"

"Yes! You're trying to butter me up; it's not gonna work!"

Lemmy let out a smile and giggled giddly.

"Well, a lot of people butter other people up! It's a _dairy_ effective method!"

Now Ludwig was beyond annoyed. He growled as the blue flames smothered his body.

"There he is!" The koopa troopa shouted. He pointed across the way at another koopa troopa. He was facing a store window with a rock in hand and clear intent to destroy.

"Are you sure?" Roy asked as he looked at the koopa troopa curiously.

"Yeah Roy; I think he would know what he looks like," said Iggy. The koopa troopa opened his mouth and projected his voice.

"HEY!"

The duplighost turned. When he saw who his victim was accompanied by, he looked shocked. Then he put on a smile of joyous surprise.

"Oh my word; it's the Koopalings!"

Iggy stepped forward. He was wearing an authoritative and diplomatic expression.

"Listen," he said in a placid tone. "You took something that belongs to this gentleman right here. Do you mind giving it back?"

The duplighost grinned sadistically and snapped his fingers. He started to glow, and so did the troopa. The opaqueness of the troopa turned back into flesh, and the opposite happened to the snatcher. The koopa troopa examined his hands, his face bearing an expression of joy.

"Yes!" He turned to the Koopalings. "Thank you guys so much!"

"Don't mention it, bud," Roy said with a triumphant grin. He turned on his heel without noticing the duplighost. A force field made of dark energy surrounded the area, trapping all of them inside. Roy pounded on it, producing a ripple on its surface but not much more.

"What the World Eight?"

The Koopalings turned to the duplighost, who was in his true form. He was draped in a milky white sheet. He had a mouth that looked like it belonged to an undead bear. And his eyes...they were frightening. They glowed red, an evil red.

"I want to thank you, little troopa," the duplighost said smugly. "You have brought me the very people who I was so _desperate_ to meet."

The duplighost stared at their opponent in horror and shock. The duplighost smiled, displaying his collection of teeth.

"If the seven of you wish to leave," he said. "You have to beat me in a fight."

Upon hearing those words, Iggy's leadership skills kicked in.

"Lemmy, Larry, protect the koopa troopa." He faced his foe with courage. "The rest of us will take care of the duplighost."

Roy charged. His fist made contact with the duplighost's face, causing it to contort in the most uncanny of ways. When it rearranged itself, he sneered at Roy and snapped his fingers at him. A wave of dark energy escaped from the tips, sending Roy flying back.

Wendy and Morton got into their shells and circled the perimeter around the duplighost. Despite the fact that he was dead, the duplighost looked incredibly sick as he watched them. Wendy came out of her shell and threw her bracelet, causing the duplighost to fly back. Morton reemerged and held the duplighost above the ground. However, this did faze the Koopalings' opponent. The red light in his eyes brightened, and a pair of black tentacles appeared from beneath its sheets. One grabbed Morton and flung him against the side of the black dome.

Iggy decided that he had better take some action. He reached into his pack and pulled out an explosive of his design. He threw it at the duplighost, causing the latter to be devoured by smoke. That was when the duplighost decided to take the battle into the air. He faced Ludwig with a sneer.

"Looks like it's just you and me, special."

Channeling all of his inner fury, he threw a plethora of fireballs at his opponent. A few hit the dome, others hit the ghost. None of them seemed to make that much of an impact. Ludwig formed a ball of electricity, and when the duplighost was hit he was flung against the force field. Ludwig viewed this with a touch of satisfaction, but when the duplighost opened his eyes he let out a gasp. He fell to the ground when he was hit by the duplighost's magic.

"Enough of this," the duplighost said as he floated down. He turned into a purple shadow of Ludwig and threw the ball of light. Ludwig squirmed and grunted as he tried to break free.

"Ludwig!" Lemmy approached his brother, an action that drew concern out of Iggy.

"Lemmy, get back!"

"Finally!" the duplighost exclaimed as he drew Ludwig closer. "I've been waiting for this day ever since I learned that there was a special koopa! When I'm finished with you, _I'll_ be the one pulling the strings!"

Even though Ludwig couldn't move, he could still feel. His anger was growing, taking him over. His electricity manipulating powers were doing the same thing.

"No...you...WON'T!"

Ludwig let go of his emotions and the electricity went nuts. Magical blasts made from both of their powers ricocheted around the dome. The duplighost watched in horror, incapable of stopping the magic. And when a magical blast came flying at Lemmy, all the littlest Koopaling could do was watch in horror. When the blast made contact with him, an explosion occurred, pushing everyone back.

When the light finally cleared, the Koopalings and the koopa troopa stood back up. The Koopalings rushed toward their brothers upon seeing them unconscious on the ground. They noticed the duplighost getting up and got into their fighting stances. Surprisingly the duplighost teleported away, but not before delivering one last glare. Iggy started checking Lemmy and Ludwig's pulses.

"Are they alright?" Iggy breathed a sigh of relief upon finding Ludwig's pulse.

"They're find just unconscious. I'll run a few tests when they wake up just be safe."

The koopa troopa rushed forward, looking jubilant.

"Oh I can't thank you guys enough!" he exclaimed.

"Don't mention it," said Larry. Roy and Morton picked up Lemmy and Ludwig.

"I suggest we let them sleep in their rooms," said Iggy. "That way their won't be too much shock."

The others agreed and started walking back to the castle.

"Awesome!" Roy let out a happy laugh. "I can't believe it! We won!"

**AN: Man, I am REALLY looking forward to chapter 4, and if you read the original you know why. I don't know when I will post it, but I can say you can all look forward to it! :)**


	4. Switched

**AN: I am so so so SO sorry for the delay. The last few days have been...interesting, to say the least. However, I am back and I am ready to write. So, without further ado...**

Chapter 4 Switched

Ludwig began to stir. He opened his eyes slowly. He was back in his room; he recognized the ceiling. _Aah__ dang it_, he thought. _I must have been knocked out._

From across the room, Lemmy also began to stir. He rubbed his eyes and, in typical Lemmy fashion, let out the most ridiculous yawn of all time. Ludwig took immediate notice.

"Lemmy, is that you?"

"Yeah; it's me," Lemmy responded. Ludwig snickered.

"I should have known. You're the only one who yawns like an anime school girl."

"Haha! Good one!" Lemmy exclaimed happily. He let out a sigh. "You know, the fight was the last thing I remember before waking up. Why is that?"

"I'd imagine we were knocked out," Ludwig responded. "That's the last thing I remember as well."

From his spot in Ludwig's bed, Lemmy adopted an expression of curious confusion.

"Did we win?" Ludwig tried to remember what happened, as it was still a little blurry.

"I don't know. I think we did. Yeah, I'm pretty sure we did."

This seemed like the most logical conclusion. After all, if they hadn't won, then Ludwig would have gotten his body stolen by the duplighost. But that hadn't happened, and Ludwig was relieved. He was relieved to be back in his room, in his bed. Everything was how it was supposed to...wait a minute.

"Hey," Ludwig said to Lemmy. "When did you put a sock monkey in my bed?"

From across the room, Lemmy felt immensely confused.

"I...didn't put a sock monkey in your bed."

Ludwig looked to his right and saw that he was surrounded by sock monkeys. He lifted the comforter and saw that it was not royal blue like the cover of his bed. It was white with rainbow polka dots.

"Well no wonder, this is _your_ bed," Ludwig said. Why in the world was he in Lemmy's bed? Obviously, his siblings were the ones who carried him and Lemmy off to their room. Did they do this as some sort of joke? If that was the case it wasn't funny, it was...confusing.

"Whatever," Ludwig said as he sat up in bed. He rubbed his eyes, trying to get the sleep out of them.

"Ludwig!?"

"What is it Lems...?" Ludwig's voice trailed off when he lifted his head. How...how was this possible?

"Lemmy!?"

Lemmy nodded his head nervously. Except it wasn't _his_ head exactly. It was Ludwig's. Lemmy looked exactly like Ludwig. Ludwig screamed, and Lemmy did the same thing.

"WHAT'S GOING ON!?" Ludwig shrieked once he had stopped screaming.

"I was just about to ask that!" Lemmy responded. There was no doubt that it was Lemmy; it sounded just like him.

"Why do you look like me!?"

"Why do _you_ look like _me_!?"

It took a moment for Ludwig to process that statement. He looked at his hands; they were smaller than usual. He felt his face; the eyes were bigger, and the snout was a different shape. He felt his hair, and when he did he let out a frightened gasp. It was sticking straight up, and...he had a ponytail! LUDWIG HAD A PONYTAIL!

"No," Ludwig said. "No no no no no!"

As he said this, Ludwig jumped out of bed and rushed toward the mirror near the door. Just as he had feared, he didn't see himself in the mirror. He saw Lemmy.

"AAAHHH! MY FACE! MY HAIR!" Ludwig shook his head in disbelief. "My beautiful hair. IT'S GONE!" Ludwig turned to Lemmy, who was just starting to get out of bed. "Be...because _you_ have it! Along with the rest of me!"

Lemmy came over to the mirror. When he saw Ludwig's face staring back at him, his eyes grew wide.

"Holy cow; we've swapped bodies!"

"That's precisely what happened; _we've swapped bodies_! Lemmy, I...**I'm YOU!** I'm in your BODY Lems!" Ludwig stared at his reflection, his breathing shallow and sharp. "I, Ludwig von Koopa..."

"Ludwig Vanessa," Lemmy corrected him.

"Ludwig _von _Koopa," Ludwig said through gritted teeth, "am in Lemonade Natalie Koopa's body!" Ludwig turned to Lemmy, his expression beyond terrified, beyond frightened. "And the worst part is that, since we swapped, not only am I in your body but **you're also in mine!** No. No no no no no! This cannot be happening; this _is not happening!_" Ludwig closed his eyes and pinched himself on the arm. Then he slapped himself across the face.

"What are you doing?" Lemmy asked.

"Trying to wake myself up! Come on Ludwig, wake up." He slapped himself across the right cheek. "Wake up!" He did it across the left. Then he started alternating back and forth rapidly, all the while shouting "WAKE UP, WAKE UP, WAKE UP, WAKE UP!" When he finished he stared into the mirror, his hyperventilating becoming concerning. Lemmy looked at him with both sympathy and worry.

"Ludwig," he said gently. "I don't think we're dreaming."

Ludwig's breathing started to slow down. He took one deep exhale and closed his eyes, his expression looking pained.

"This is real," he said quietly. He went over to his bed. Once seated he started to examine himself. He felt Lemmy's mohawk; in terms of texture, it was much rougher than Ludwig's hair. Ludwig looked at Lemmy's feet; they were smaller, and have definitely seen better days. Ludwig stared at Lemmy's left hand. Not his hand; _Lemmy's._

"This is impossible," Ludwig said in disbelief. "I can't believe that I'm...I'm..." he shook his head and gave a scoff of fright and disgust. "_You_." Ludwig allowed himself to fall backwards onto the bed.

"I can't believe it either," Lemmy said as he started to come over. "And plus...it's really itchy in here!"

Ludwig sat back up and saw Lemmy scratching his arms.

"Don't do that! You're gonna ruin my skin."

"I can't help it! I...feel like I'm..._crawling_."

Lemmy's scratching accentuated. It was then that Ludwig realized how wrong this was. This was wrong on every conceivable level. This had to be fixed as soon as possible.

"There's obviously a reason," Ludwig said. "I mean, stuff like _this_ doesn't just happen."

"You're right," Lemmy said as he took a seat on the bed. He and Ludwig took a moment to consider this. "Did Iggy do this?"

"Iggy's not this sadistic," Ludwig responded. Lemmy looked at Ludwig with a look of fright.

"Did _you_ do this?" At this, Ludwig scoffed.

"I don't have the power that permits me to do this! Even if I did, I get no pleasure out of my own torment!"

Lemmy nodded his head and got to thinking again.

"Was it Kamek?" he asked after a minute.

Ludwig thought about this. It was a distinct possibility. After all, magikoopas did have transformation spells. However, Ludwig quickly discarded the possibility. If Kamek had place a transformation spell on them, then they wouldn't have retained their voices.

"No. It wasn't Kamek."

"Then who was it?" Lemmy asked. Ludwig put his hand to his chin, considering every logical expalnation. Then it clicked.

"It was the duplighost."

"What?"

"It was the duplighost!" Ludwig said as he turned to face Lemmy. "Don't you remember what happened before we were knocked out? I was in my body...fighting the duplighost! And then...then he tried to curse me, so I used my electricity to escape. And then..."

"Then I got hit by one of the blasts!" Lemmy said as the pieces fell into place. "That must be it! But how are we gonna change back?"

"I don't know," Ludwig admitted. "But I think seeing Iggy would be the first step."

"Oh yeah, Iggy's good with minds!" Lemmy said with a smile. "Sure, he loses his every once in a while, but he always manages to find it again."

Ludwig stared at Lemmy. He had no idea whether Lemmy was making a joke or not.

"Nice," he said sardonically. "Alright, let's go. The less time I spend in this ragdoll, the better."

Lemmy nodded and sprung out of the bed. Ludwig hopped down and tried to follow him. Unfortunately, his new legs wobbled like gelatin. He stumbled and fell. Lemmy looked back in concern.

"You okay?"

"This is beyond awkward." Ludwig tried to stand up. "It doesn't help that I'm the size of a goomba." He took a step forward, but because he had trouble finding his balance, he almost tripped. Thankfully, Lemmy was able to catch him.

"Thanks," Ludwig said to his brother. He tried to stand up, but had to hold onto Lemmy for support. He turned to Lemmy with both genuine curiosity and incredulity. "Do you even have a center of gravity? How do you get around in this thing?"

"Well, after I find my balance I just run everywhere. It helps to keep a water bottle on standby."

Ludwig stared at Lemmy for a second.

"I'll keep that in mind." With that, they exited the room.

**AN: Merry Christmas everyone :) Also, I'm sorry about any spellling errors that I missed.**


	5. A Duplighost's Curse

Chapter 5 A Duplighost's Curse

The walk down the hallway, at least to Ludwig, felt like it was taking forever. Ludwig didn't know if it was because he was leading the way with shorter legs or if his impatience was acting up, but either way the walk to the lab was grating on his nerves.

He still could not believe this. Why...why was he in Lemmy's body? Well, he knew why; there had been an unfortunate freak accident. But….why? Why did this have to happen to _him_?

"I can't believe this," Ludwig muttered to himself. "First Lemmy is in my room and now he's in my body? Does the universe just hate me?"

"No, the universe doesn't hate you." Ludwig practically had a heart attack when he heard Lemmy refer to what he thought he was saying to himself.

"Did...did I say that out loud?" Ludwig asked his brother. Lemmy nodded with a happy grin on "his" face. Ludwig sighed in frustration and continued the rest of the walk in silence. When he and Lemmy finally got to the lab door, he couldn't help but feel relieved.

"Okay," Ludwig said, this time intentionally speaking loud enough for Lemmy to hear. "Once Iggy switches us back, we will be able to forget this ever happened and move on with our lives. And believe me, that is something that I am looking forward to doing."

Ludwig put his hand on the knob. He was about to turn it when he heard Lemmy speak up.

"Ludwig?"

"What is it, Lemmy?" Ludwig responded with a nervous inflection.

"Do you think once we get this sorted out, I can write a song with you?"

Ludwig was flabbergasted. His mouth hung open in shock before he turned to face Lemmy.

"Da...da...you're worried about that now? Are you kidding me!?"

"Yeah," Lemmy responded casually. "I _really _want to write a song with you! Please?"

Ludwig stared at Lemmy. He had no words. He felt like half of his brain had just exploded.

"Tell you what; we'll talk about it after we've swapped back," Ludwig finally said. Seeing how this answer seemed to make Lemmy satisfied, Ludwig opened the door.

When Lemmy and Ludwig stepped into the lab, they could see that all of their siblings were there. Roy and Larry were going to town on their Nintendo Switches, and based on the dirty looks they were giving each other, they seemed to be competing. Wendy was reading a book, and Morton was crocheting a purple and silver scarf (he had taken up crocheting upon Wendy's suggestion). Iggy was standing in front of one of the lab tables. Even though his back was to the entrance, Ludwig and Lemmy could see he was using tongs to hold a glass vial over a bunsen burner. Once the contents changed color from cyan to vermillion, Iggy removed it from the heat and held the container in his gloved hands.

"I still can't believe we saw a duplighost in person," Iggy said to the four sitting at the table. "I mean, they're just so rare!"

"Iggy?" Lemmy and Ludwig said in unison. Iggy turned to them and grinned brightly.

"Oh! Lemmy, Ludwig; glad to see that you're awake! Now, if you don't mind, I have to perform a few tests to make sure that everything's in order."

"Save the tests Iggy," Ludwig said. "They won't be necessary."

Iggy's eyes grew wide with shock. The vial slipped out of his hands, shattering into a thousand pieces when it hit the floor. Wendy, Roy, Larry, and Morton also looked confused.

"Did I...hear that right?" Morton asked after a minute.

"Well if you heard the way I heard it you definitely didn't, because to me it sounded like _Ludwig's_ voice was coming out of _Lemmy_!" Larry exclaimed.

"Nope! You guys heard correctly!" Ludwig exclaimed. "And the reason I sound like Ludwig is because I _am_ Ludwig!"

"And I'm Lemmy!" Lemmy chimed in. "We woke up in each other's bodies!"

Iggy was still flabbergasted. His mouth was moving, but he wasn't producing a sound let alone a word.

"So wait, let me get this straight," Wendy said as she pointed at Ludwig. "You're saying that _you're_ Ludwig…." she pointed at Lemmy "...and you're _Lemmy_!?"

"Yep," said Ludwig. "Except for my voice, Lemmy now has every part of my body. My shell. My face…" Ludwig's lower lip trembled, and when he spoke he did it weakly …. "And my gorgeous hair!"

Iggy shook his head in disbelief. Thankfully, he had finally managed to find his voice.

"How did...how did this happen?! Neural exchanges are an impossibility!"

"Unless you're a duplighost!" Wendy said. Her eyes grew wide as she stared at the two oldest. "I bet that's how it happened, isn't it?"

"We think so too," Lemmy said. "After all, the fight was the last thing we remember before waking up."

Iggy still stared at his two older brothers. He could not believe this. Lemmy and Ludwig mixed like oil and water . Forcing them to stay in each other's bodies would be a recipe for disaster.

"You guys can't stay this way!" Iggy exclaimed.

"We know Iggy," Ludwig said with a gentle yet desperate tone. "That's why we would really like you to switch us back."

Iggy's expression started to become more serious and thoughtful. He cast a quick glance at the storage closet at the back of the room.

"One moment," he said before rushing into the closet. Everyone waited while Iggy rummaged around in there, curious as to what he was looking for. After about a minute, he came back out with a thick, dusty book in hand.

"Here it is!" Iggy went over to the table where Morton, Larry, Wendy, and Roy were gathered. Ludwig and Lemmy also gathered around to see what was going on.

"What is that?" Lemmy asked.

"I picked it up for some light reading over the summer," Iggy explained as he started flipping through the pages. Larry snickered.

"This is light? Dude, you really need to get some new hobbies."

Iggy cast a quick glare toward the youngest.

"This book contains every legend pertaining to every creature in the Mushroom World," Iggy said as he looked back at the book. "Ah here it is; the duplighost!"

Everyone leaned in closer, and Roy gave up his seat so that Ludwig could see.

"Centuries ago, there was a human man who crossed paths with a powerful magikoopa. He made fun of the magikoopa, taunting him for his glasses and his hat. Furious, the magikoopa cursed the young human. The curse, however, did not take effect until the day he died. When he let out his last breath, his soul left his body and took the form of a white ghost with soul killing eyes. The first duplighost."

"Woah. That's creepy," said Roy. Iggy gave a nod before turning the page.

"Duplighosts have become prevalent monsters ever since, dominating and infecting the land. They steal the body of their victims, for they have no physical form to call their own. A duplighost is truly a fearsome foe, for once it has placed its curse on you... **they **are the only one who can remove it."

**AN: Just a side note, this rewrite is going to be longer than the original. The original was ten chapters, so this will probably be...thirteen? Fourteen? I don't know, it depends on how I break up the chapters.**


	6. Ghosts and Gangs

Chapter 6 Ghosts and Gangs

The atmosphere in the lab was so thick that you would need a chainsaw to cut it. The silence was so strong that it seemed like all of the Koopalings forgot how to breathe. Finally, with worry prevalent in both his expression and his inflection, Lemmy spoke up.

"Wait, the only one? You mean there's no other way?"

Iggy's face held an expression filled with dread and fear. He carefully closed the book, making sure that the heavy pages didn't slam together. He let out a sigh.

"That's what the book says."

Lemmy looked at Ludwig. He could see the gears turning in his brother's head.

"Then we need to find that duplighost pronto," Ludwig said with determination. "Come on guys! There's no time to lose!" He dismounted the stool and headed for the lab exit.

"Ludwig, wait!" Iggy called out as he stood up. "I don't think that is a good idea! You're supernatural abilities are caused by an overabundance of galaxium in your bloodstream, but I do not believe you can utilize them now that you have been severed from your physical form!"

Morton rolled his eyes. Wendy and Larry exchanged a look at Iggy's overcomplicated word choice.

"Can you...say that again in English?" Roy asked with confusion dominating his face. Iggy's face fell a little.

"What I'm trying to say is that I don't think Ludwig has his powers anymore; he won't be able to fight!" Iggy exclaimed. Roy's eyes grew wide.

"Oh man, you're right!" he said. Ludwig looked like he was on the verge of tears.

"Then...then what are we gonna do?" he asked. "Are Lemmy and I gonna be stuck like this forever?"

"No...NO! I did not say that," Iggy said in a reassuring a tone as he turned to Lemmy. "We're gonna get you two back to normal." He turned back to Ludwig. "I just don't want to put anyone in unnecessary danger." He stepped forward. "I'll go look for the duplighost. You guys stay here and hold down the fort, alright?"

Iggy's eyes roamed over his siblings. When he made eye contact with each of them, they nodded. Iggy smiled.

"Okay. I'll be back soon," he said.

"Please hurry Iggy," Lemmy said desperately.

"Yes, please," Ludwig implored him.

"I'll do my best," Iggy promised. "Stay out of trouble!" With that, he exited the lab. Ludwig started taking big, shaky breaths, and Lemmy let out a worried sigh. Wendy put her hand on Lemmy's shoulder.

"How do you guys feel?" she asked. Lemmy directed his gaze toward the floor.

"Freaked out," he admitted. "And nauseous."

"Me too," said Ludwig. He turned toward his brother. "But Lemmy, if you throw up while you're in my body…"

"No, don't worry Ludwig. I don't think that'll be a problem." Lemmy couldn't finish this statement without gagging though, which only made Ludwig more distraught.

"It doesn't help that I'm essentially standing two feet away from myself," he told the others. "I mean, I know it's Lemmy in there, but still it's…..freaky."

"I know what you mean," Lemmy said sadly. The rest of the Koopalings hated seeing their two older brothers so miserable.

"Don't worry guys; it's gonna be okay," Wendy said as she flashed them a reassuring smile. "If you guys need anything, you can talk to us."

Lemmy was looking at Wendy when she was saying this. When she finished, he smiled. Despite the fact that he was in Ludwig's body at the moment, Lemmy's smile couldn't be mistaken for anyone else's.

"Thanks Wendy," he said happily.

"Yeah. We appreciate it," Ludwig said. He gave a weak smile, but eventually it gained strength.

"Besides, it's not so bad," Larry said. "At least you guys still have your voices."

Ludwig put his hand to his throat and gave a slight chuckle.

"It is my best feature. It's what I use to sing, after all."

"And I use mine to tell jokes!" Lemmy said giddily. "I also use it to _voice_ my opinions."

Ludwig rolled his eyes while Lemmy giggled.

"Ah. The more things change, the more they stay the same," he said. Roy snorted back a laugh, drawing everyone's attention to him.

"What's so funny?" Morton asked. Roy giggled.

"I never thought I'd see Lemmy roll his eyes at a pun."

Everyone chuckled at that. Ludwig smiled as he shook his head.

"Oh, if you think that's funny, you should have been there when we woke up. I was freaking out!" Ludwig and Lemmy laughed at the memory, but eventually their laughter died. Morton gave them a sympathetic look.

"Don't worry guys; Iggy _will_ find the duplighost." When he finished this, Roy snorted back another laugh. Morton turned to him. "What is it?"

"I don't think Iggy needs to go looking for the ghostie thingie. I've already got a way to switch them back!"

"You do?" asked Wendy in surprise. Roy nodded as he took hold of Lemmy's hand.

"Yep; I do!" He went over, took Ludwig's hand, and brought his two older brothers to an open area of the lab. "Sometimes, the only way to solve of a problem is through sheer brute FORCE!"

"Wait a second," said Wendy. "You're not gonna…?"

"Bang their heads together? Heck yeah!" he said happily. Lemmy and Ludwig looked hesitant to say the least.

"Uh, Roy?" Lemmy asked nervously.

"I don't think this will work," Ludwig said. Roy laughed.

"You don't know that! NOW BRACE FOR IMPACT!" Just as he said he would, Roy banged Ludwig and Lemmy's heads together. They both yelled "oww" very loudly and fell to the floor. Ludwig sat up and examined Lemmy incredulously.

"Didn't work; I'm still a midget!" Lemmy groaned as he put his hand to his forehead, and Roy looked confused.

"Huh. That's weird; I could've sworn that would work." Roy put his hand to his chin. "Maybe I should try it again?"

"NOOO!" Lemmy and Ludwig yelled.

"No! I want to get my skull back in one piece, thank you very much!" Ludwig exclaimed.

"Yeah Roy, to tell you the truth...I think that plan was a little _bonkers_," said Lemmy. He burst into a fit of giggles while Ludwig glared at him in annoyance. He turned his attention back to Roy.

"Besides," he said as he stood up. "Don't you remember when Iggy said the duplighost was the _only_ one who could remove the curse?"

Roy stared at Ludwig in confusion. He scratched his head.

"Iggy said that? You know, Iggy was talking for a long time and it got kind of boring after a while. To be honest, I kinda just started to tune it out."

Ludwig looked at Roy incredulously. He didn't look baffled so much as disappointed.

"I feel sorry for the woman you're gonna marry."

Roy looked a little embarrassed. Lemmy stood up, looking a little woozy, curious, and concerned.

"Ludwig, do you think we should go to our room?" he asked.

"Yeah," Ludwig said with a nod. "The two of us walking around with the wrong voices is bound to cause a panic. And this is already bad enough."

"You're right," Lemmy agreed. "I guess that's okay. While I wait I'll read a book I was working on."

"And I'm gonna take a nap," Ludwig said. He let out a sigh. "Hopefully when I wake up I'll be back in my body."

A sound was heard up near the lab entrance. It sounded like somebody clearing their throat. All of the Koopalings looked up the stairs and saw two of the koopa troopa servants. One was male and had a red shell. The other was female and had a green shell.

"Hi. We hope we aren't interrupting anything," said the green shelled female. Lemmy looked genuinely excited to see them.

"Oh, Shelldon! Tortuga! It's so nice to see…"

Before he could finish the sentence, Morton ran over and placed his hand on Lemmy's mouth. He then turned toward the servants with a calm expression.

"What's the matter?" he asked stoically.

"Well, we have a bit of a problem and were wondering if you could help us," Shelldon said.

"Nope, can't. See you later," said Larry. He was just about to head out of the lab, but Wendy stopped him.

"What's the problem?" she asked. Tortuga sighed.

"Well, there is a gang down near the castle wall. They consist of a goomba, a koopa paratroopa, and a sledge brother, and they are graffiting the walls."

Wendy stared at Tortuga and Shelldon. She looked absolutely terrified.

"And...Bowser wants us to take care of them?"

"Yes," said Tortuga with a nod.

"Us? At this very moment?" Wendy asked, her voice rising like steam.

"Yeah!" said Shelldon. "He knows that you guys won't have that much trouble with it. Especially seeing how you've got Ludwig on your team."

Everyone glanced over at Lemmy. He looked terrified, horrified even. He looked like he had just been told he was going to be executed at dawn.

"That's true," Larry said weakly. Everyone looked at Ludwig and saw that he looked just as scared.

"So, " said Shelldon. "Do you think you guys can do it?"

Wendy hesitated. She met the gaze of her brothers. While Morton looked calm and Larry looked slightly annoyed, Ludwig was actively shaking his head no. Wendy knew that if she didn't refuse verbally, then he would. Wendy sighed.

"Look. Shelldon, Tortuga, I'm really sorry. But you see...the thing is..."

"We'd be happy to do it!" Roy interrupted.

"WE WILL!?" Lemmy shouted in surprise. Shelldon and Tortuga cast a glance at Ludwig, who gave them a nervous smile and a wave. Then Tortuga's face brightened.

"That's great!"

"What is the matter with you?" Wendy said as she angrily elbowed Roy in the gut.

"Don't worry guys; you're gonna do great!" Shelldon exclaimed. "It'll be just like a kidnapping mission!"

"Oh yeah," said Larry. "Cause you know...those always end well."

Neither of the troopa servants seemed to acknowledge the sarcasm. Instead they just smiled.

"Okay," said Tortuga. "Good luck everyone!" She and Shelldon turned to leave, but before he climbed the steps Shelldon approached Ludwig.

"Oh, Lemmy. I've been wanting to hear a joke all day. Do you think you could hit me up with one?"

Ludwig's mouth hung open in shock.

"Someone help me," he said to the others through the left hand corner of his mouth.

"Oh," said Wendy. "Lemmy can't tell you a joke right now because...he has..."

"THE PLAGUE!"

Everyone's eyes went over to the youngest Koopaling.

"The plague?" asked Tortuga. Ludwig gave Larry a look of complete bafflement. If half of his brain exploded because of Lemmy, Larry just took out the other half.

"Yeah," Larry said. "He has the plague! It's really bad and super contagious. In fact, if you guys don't want to catch it, I suggest that you leave. Like...right now!"

Tortuga glanced at Ludwig sympathetically.

"Okay then. Well, I hope you feel better Lemmy." With that, the servants left the lab. Once he was sure they were a healthy distance away, Ludwig let out a frustrated breath.

"ROY..."

"Wait," said Morton. "May I take this one?"

Ludwig shrugged. Morton closed his eyes.

"Roy." He opened his eyes and faced his brother. "What the goomba stomping heck?!"

"Seriously!" said Larry. "Were you even in the room the past twenty minutes!?"

"Yeah! We can't go fight!" said Wendy.

"What are you talking about; we got Ludwig!" Roy exclaimed. "All we have to do is have him go out there, throw a few fire balls at the bozos, and we'll be done before it's time for dinner!"

"Roy, we can't do that!" Wendy said. Roy looked confused.

"Why not?"

"LOOK AT ME ROY!" Ludwig exclaimed. "I CAN'T FIGHT!"

"Oh," Roy said as his face fell. "Right I forgot. You're...in there."

Ludwig could feel a vein starting to pop in his forehead.

"You IDIOT! You're lucky I don't have my powers right now, because as soon as I get them back...!"

"Okay, can we not talk about bloodshed right now?" Morton interrupted. He then turned to Wendy. "What are we gonna do?"

"Well, it's either we go fight," she said, "or we're all grounded for a month."

"So we're gonna go fight?" Lemmy asked. Wendy nodded and sighed.

"Yes we are."


	7. Playing a Part

Chapter 7 Playing a Part

Ludwig stood in the lab. Wendy, Roy, Larry, and Morton had already left the room, leaving just him and Lemmy. He didn't not want to go fight; he _really _didn't. Unfortunately, it appeared that he didn't have a choice. He let out an exasperated sigh.

"Alright, let's get this over with. Come on Lemmy, let's go!"

Ludwig headed toward the exit and started climbing up the stairs. It wasn't until he was halfway up that he realized that Lemmy was playing with his hair in front of a mirror on the left-hand wall. Ludwig gawked.

"Lemmy, what are you doing?"

"This might not be so bad!" Lemmy turned to Ludwig with a bright smile. "You've actually got some really nice hair, Ludwig!"

"Yeah! And I intend to keep that way!" Ludwig said in frustration. "Now, can you leave my hair alone; we've got a job to do!"

Lemmy's facially expression changed to a mischievous grin.

"Okay! I _hair_ you loud and clear!"

Lemmy fell into chortling. Ludwig did not; instead he glared at his younger brother in annoyance.

"Just _stop_!" Ludwig exclaimed in frustration. "They're not funny coming out of your mouth and they're not funny coming out of mine! Now come on; we're holding everybody up!"

Lemmy nodded and stepped away from the mirror. Together, Lemmy and Ludwig left the lab and walked down the hall. They had only taken two steps away from the door when Ludwig decided to speak up.

"Oh, mama mia, I'm freezing!" he said as he rubbed his arms. "I feel so naked without my cloak."

Lemmy smiled and chuckled.

"Yeah, this cloak is really nice. I also really like this jasper. Where'd you get it?"

Ludwig stopped walking and turned around. His eyes were glowing with apprehension as they travelled between Lemmy and the jasper.

"I uh ...I don't remember," he finally said.

"Oh," Lemmy said. His hand started to move toward the jewel. "Well, it is really nice…"

"DON'T TOUCH IT!"

Lemmy stopped moving immediately. He stared at Ludwig, who looked a little frightened.

"Just...don't touch it." To Ludwig's relief, Lemmy pulled his hand away, hiding it within the folds of Ludwig's cloak. "Just forget about the gem, okay?"

"Okay," Lemmy said gently, meekly.

"Good." Ludwig turned and took two steps forward, but immediately stopped dead. When he spoke he sounded horrified.

"Oh no. Uh, Lemmy?"

"Yeah?"

"I...you ...we've ...I've gotta go!"

"Go? Go where?" Lemmy asked. Suddenly the pieces fell into place. "Oh! You mean you've gotta…"

"Pee! I've gotta pee!" Ludwig was practically crying with humiliation when he said this.

"Oh," Lemmy said. "That makes sense; I did have a soda earlier." Lemmy noticed the expression on Ludwig's face. "Well then go! Hurry hurry hurry!"

Ludwig stepped in front of the lab door, cringing all the while. He groaned.

"Miyamoto help me," he said quietly. With that, he ducked into the lab. For the sake of Ludwig's dignity, Lemmy stayed behind. He went a little closer to the lab door, and that was when he heard Ludwig scream in fright. Lemmy sighed and closed his eyes.

"Oh man. I was hoping he wouldn't do that."

Almost immediately after he said that, the lab door opened.

"You alright?" Lemmy asked Ludwig. He clearly wasn't; he looked like he had just come back from...from something so awful that it should not be spoken of.

"That was the most horrifying thing I've ever done," Ludwig said weakly. Lemmy chuckled nervously.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better just remember...none of what you just saw belongs to you."

Ludwig closed his eyes and let out a miserable whimper. It was then that Lemmy realized what he just said.

"Oh wow! That makes it ten times worse! Uh...let's just...go join the others."

Ludwig completely baffled as he faced Lemmy.

"How do you exist? Seriously!?"

….

When Lemmy and Ludwig finally caught up with the rest of their siblings, Larry greeted them with frustration.

"Where have you been? You guys took forever!"

Ludwig gritted his teeth and clenched his fist.

"Well Larry, I am _so flippin sorry_!"

"Ludwig," Morton interrupted. "I've already talked to you about your anger today. Would you like me to do it again?"

Ludwig cast a glance at his dark skinned brother. Then he sighed as he unclenched his fist.

"No, that won't be necessary."

Morton nodded his head. Then Ludwig looked out to see what they were dealing with. Like Shelldon and Tortuga had said, the gang had three members: a paratroopa, a goomba, and a sledge brother. They were chortling incessantly as they graffitied inappropriate images onto the castle wall.

"That's them?" Ludwig asked. Roy snickered.

"I know right! These guys don't look so tough!" Roy cracked his knuckles. "We can take em easy!"

"Not so fast, big guy," said Wendy. "I agree with you for the most part. If it was just the paratroopa and the goomba then we could easily take them out together."

"Heck," said Larry, "_one_ of us could take them out; no problem." He sighed. "But then there's the sledge brother."

"Exactly," said Wendy. "If that guy decides to ground pound, then we are all doomed."

Roy's face fell as he comprehended what Wendy was saying. Lemmy looked at the gang nervously.

"So what are we going to do?" he asked.

"Absolutely nothing!" Ludwig scoffed. "We might as well start waving the white flags now!" He shook his head. "I can't believe that we have to do this now of all times. I mean, Shelldon and Tortuga even singled me out specifically as the best fighter!'

"Well, they aren't wrong under normal circumstances," Wendy said. She slowly turned around. "In fact, I don't even think they are wrong now."

"Whatcha talking about, Wen?" asked Roy. Wendy took a step toward Lemmy.

"Lemmy, how confident are you to go out and face the gang?"

"Uhh…"

"Good! Because that's what we're gonna have you do!"

The eyes of all of the present male Koopalings grew wide.

"We're gonna have Lemmy go out there?" Larry asked.

"Lemmy?" Ludwig asked. He pointed toward his face. "As in this guy?"

"Yes," Wendy said. "Ludwig, everyone in the kingdom knows that you're a special. I think, if we play our cards right, we could scare the gang enough so that we don't even have to fight."

Ludwig's jaw dropped.

"Wendy, are you insane? We can't have Lemmy go out there! I've seen how he…"

"LUDWIG!" Lemmy interrupted in fright.

"Let me finish!" Ludwig said in frustration. "I've seen how he handles kidnapping missions."

Lemmy breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh," he said. "I thought you we'e gonna...never mind."

There was a quick pause, and the others thought they saw a cringe pass over Ludwig's face.

"Besides," Ludwig said. "Never mind the fact that it's my reputation we'd be putting on the line."

"Well, do you have any better ideas?" Wendy asked. "Look, I don't want to make Bowser upset okay? I know it's not a good plan, but at least it's something!"

Ludwig didn't have anything to say to this. Wendy put on a confident face and got even closer to Lemmy.

"Lemmy, you can do this," she said reassuringly.

"I don't know," Lemmy said. "I mean...you guys know I'm a terrible fighter without my circus ball. Besides, I'm not even a fighter really. I'm an actor; a clown."

"Hey," Larry said. "You're forgetting that clowns can be scary too."

Wendy smiled.

"If it helps, then you don't have to think of this as a battle," she said. "Think of it as putting on a show. You are putting on a play and you are playing the part of Ludwig."

Lemmy thought about it some more. He still looked a little nervous.

"I don't know…"

"Come on Lems!" Wendy said. "You don't have to worry; we'll be right out there with you." She turned to the others. "Come on guys, let's go!"

Wendy, Roy, Morton, and Larry all stepped out from behind the castle wall. Lemmy turned to Ludwig.

"Ludwig, do you think I can do this?"

"Do _you_ think you can do this?"

"No?" Lemmy said after a moment of hesitance.

"Well there's your answer," said Ludwig. "Now get my butt on the battlefield!"

**AN: Happy New Year, everyone! I've got a good feeling about 2020**!


	8. Powerless

Chapter 8 Powerless

"Hey!"

The gang turned their attention to the Koopalings when they heard Wendy call out. The paratroopa snickered smugly.

"Oh look at this. It's the teenage mutant ninja _losers_!"

Larry let out some sarcastic laughter.

"Ha ha, funny! Haven't heard **that** one before!"

Wendy took a step toward the gang. If she was nervous, she was doing a brilliant job at masking it.

"Listen up, punks," she said. "We want you to stop what you are doing and leave the castle grounds. If you do that, we might consider keeping you out of the dungeons."

"Ooh, I'm so scared!" the goomba said in mock fright. "Is that the place where you keep Princess Peach?"

Roy stepped forward, chuckling condescendingly.

"Actually," he said smugly, "we don't keep Princess Peach in the dungeons. We keep her in a cage."

The paratroopa laughed.

"Well, I think they should keep _you_ in a cage cause you're a big stinky animal!"

Roy's ego shattered like glass. He looked at the gang with a prideless shock.

"Excuse me?"

The sledge brother, who up until this point had been completely silent, snickered.

"You're certainly ugly enough."

"Oh ho ho! Good one, Max!" the goomba said. As Roy gritted his teeth and growled, Wendy gestured to Lemmy.

"You don't want to listen to us? Alright. Maybe you'll listen to a special instead."

Lemmy stepped forward. He had his fists out and was wearing a determined face. The gang, much to the Koopalings' relief, flinched a little at the sight of him. Wendy grinned.

"Let me introduce you to Ludwig Vanessa…"

"AHEM!" Ludwig said from the back of the group. Wendy smiled sheepishly.

"Oh, sorry: Ludwig _von _Koopa."

"Yeah! That's right!" Lemmy cried triumphantly. "I'm Ludwig von Koopa! I've got superpowers, and if you don't do what I say, then I'm gonna...do..._stuff_ with them!"

Ludwig shook his head.

"Oh dear developer, I knew this was gonna be unbearable," he muttered. The gang started chuckling, their initial fear upon seeing "Ludwig" completely gone.

"Dude," said the goomba. "What's up with his voice?"

"I know, right?" said the paratroopa with a grin. "He sounds like a garden gnome!"

"And that's if that garden gnome was high on helium!" said the sledge brother. The all chuckled while Lemmy racked his brain for a comeback.

"That's true," he said with a little hesitance. "But you're forgetting that...garden gnomes can be scary too!"

Ludwig facepalmed. The paratroopa grinned mockingly.

"In what universe?" he asked.

"In dimension four and nine eigths!" Lemmy exclaimed. "Where garden gnomes aid plants in the fight against the zombie apocalypse!"

"Annnddd….there went my sanity," said Ludwig. "Thanks Lemmy, I didn't need that." Morton cast Ludwig a look.

"Ludwig, calm down."

"Calm down!?" Ludwig asked angrily. "How can you expect me to calm down; this is stupid! If it was me out there, we'd already be finished by now!"

Morton's face adopted a worried expression. He went over to Lemmy.

"Lemmy, you're not scary enough," he said.

"Yeah Lems!" said Larry. "You've gotta step up to the plate; show em who's boss!"

Lemmy looked between Morton and Larry, his face drenched in worry. Then he put on his brave face again.

"You guys laugh now," he told the gang. "But will you be laughing when I burn your faces…."

Lemmy took a step forward and tripped. The gang burst into laughter as the confidence of all the Koopalings fell.

"Wow," the paratroopa said. He started to gulf clap. "Bravo."

"You guys think you can scary us with that pathetic display?" asked the sledge brother.

"I don't think I've seen anything sadder in all the Mushroom World," said the goomba. "And considering you've got Sunglasses on your team, that's saying a lot."

Roy stared at the gang so intensely and so madly that if looks could kill, they would be dead.

"You guys want a beating! Well so be it!"

Roy rushed forward, shouting at the top of his lungs. He aimed his fist at the sledge brother, who caught it in the palm of his hand. Roy gulped.

"I immediately regret this decision."

The sledge brother kicked Roy in the stomach, sending him crashing into the castle wall. The gang cackled as they rushed toward the other Koopalings. Wendy took out her bracelet.

"Alright. You guys like to laugh?" she asked. "Well let's see how well you can laugh with a broken jaw!"

Wendy threw her ring at the paratroopa, who caught it like a frisbee. The sledge brother ground pounded, immobilizing his opponent with the shock waves. While she was immobile, the sledge bro punched Wendy in the face, sending her flying back.

Larry ran forward. He threw a punch at the goomba, making a direct hit. He cheered in celebration, which unfortunately was a bad move. The sledge bro grabbed by the mohawk and twirled him around like a slingshot. He then let him go, causing Larry to fall face first in the dirt.

Morton ran forward, and just like with Roy, the sledge brother grabbed his fist. Morton chuckled sheepishly.

"Hello," he said weakly. The sledge brother threw him against the wall, which he it with the side of his wall. As Morton groaned, the sledge bro turned to Lemmy.

"Your turn, special."

Lemmy whimpered, and Ludwig knew that they had only one option.

"Lemmy, run!"

The two ran as fast they could. The gang was right behind them until they turned the corner. They had just enough time to duck behind a large boulder. Ludwig watched the gang run past.

"Okay. I think we're alright," he said.

"Yeah, but they'll be back soon!" Lemmy said. "Ludwig, you've gotta do something!"

Ludwig looked at Lemmy in shock.

"What!? ME!?"

"Yeah! You've gotta go out there and fight those guys!"

"HOW!? I'm you remember? I mean, what am I supposed to do; attack them with a bunch of puns?" Ludwig crossed his arms. "Because believe me. If we could do that, then everyone who's ever been within a ten mile radius of you would be dead."

Lemmy whimpered.

"Well if you can't stop them," he asked, "then who can."

"I don't know," Ludwig admitted. "It's not like we can use my pyrokinesis..." Ludwig's voice trailed off and his eyes grew wide. "Wait a minute! Lemmy, you have to fight the gang!"

"What!?" Lemmy shrieked.

"Remember what Iggy said?" Ludwig asked. "That my powers are caused by galaxium in my blood? Well, if you have my body, that means you also have my powers!"

Ludwig had no idea why he sounded excited about this. Lemmy was the last person he wanted to have access to his powers. Okay, not the last, but he was in the bottom ten.

"But...but I've never used your powers before!" Lemmy exclaimed. "I don't know the first thing about them!"

"Well, I was born with them. I can teach you all that you need to know."

Lemmy thought about this. Then he smiled and stood up.

"You're right! Ooh Ludwig, can you teach me how to make that blue fire?"

"Good idea," Ludwig said with a smile. "Alright, both my pyrokinesis and my electricity manipulation are fueled by anger, so try to channel all the rage that you possibly can."

A pit formed in Lemmy's stomach.

"Anger? Yeah, um...I don't know how to do that."

Ludwig's face fell.

"Hey!"

The gang had come back and was running at them. Ludwig became anxious.

"Alright, let's try telekinesis," he said worriedly. "If you want to lift something, you've got to focus all your concentration on it." Ludwig pointed at the boulder they had been hiding behind. "Concentrate on lifting that."

Lemmy held out his hand and tried to clear his mind of every worry he had. His hand started to glow, and so did the boulder. It slowly rose into the air, and Ludwig smiled.

"Great job, Lems!"

Lemmy turned to the gang and saw that they looked fearful again.

"Yeah! I told you I've got super powers!" He laughed and swung his hand forward. "Take that!"

Lemmy expected that the boulder would fly toward the gang, but nothing happened. He tried again.

"Take that! Take that!"

Nothing. He turned to Ludwig in a panic.

"Ludwig, why won't it move?"

"Because you're not doing it right!"

"THERE'S A WRONG WAY TO MOVE A ROCK!?"

The blue light that engulfed Lemmy's hand died. Lemmy and Ludwig looked upward.

"Uh oh," Lemmy said. He and Ludwig got out of the way on the nick of time and started to run. The sledge bro picked up the boulder.

"Hey Max; over here!" cried the paratroopa. The sledge bro threw the boulder, but the paratroopa moved away at the last moment.

"Whoops. Silly me!"


	9. Powerless Part 2

Chapter 9 Powerless Part 2

Ludwig ran with every last fiber of his being. Unfortunately, the effort that he was exerting didn't get him very far. Lemmy's body was not designed for running; that much was being made abundantly clear. When Lemmy and Ludwig stopped to catch their breath, Ludwig decided to bring his frustration out into the light.

"Why…..are your legs….so….**short!"** Ludwig asked in between breaths.

Lemmy's face initially looked a little sympathetic toward his older brother. Then his expression shifted into a smile. In fact, it happened so quickly that Ludwig second guessed whether or not he had seen the pity in the first place.

"Well look on the bright side! On the ever decreasing chance that we survive this, I'll be able to tell everybody that I lifted a huge object telekinetically!"

Ludwig looked at Lemmy with a sour expression, unamused by what he could only assume was a joke (a very inappropriately placed joke, in his opinion). Then his eyes shifted to behind Lemmy and he looked frightened.

"ROCK!"

Lemmy looked to where Ludwig was pointing and turned back with a confused smile.

"That's not a rock; that's a boulder!" Realizing what he just said, he turned back around with fear in his eyes.

"BOULDER!"

Lemmy and Ludwig, despite the fact that they were still recovering from the last time they ran, broke out into a run. They didn't stop until they had turned the corner and stood next to the castle wall. Ludwig felt like he was going to pass out from exhaustion.

"What can we do now?" asked Lemmy. "We tried telekinesis and fire. What else is there?"

Ludwig let out a weary sigh.

"Well, we do have _one _other option," he said. "I didn't want to do this but...you know what they say; third time's the charm." He looked back at Lemmy with so much worry that Lemmy himself started to feel worried. "Hopefully this charm isn't gonna kill us!"

Ludwig hopped onto Lemmy's back and held onto his shoulders.

"Alright," Ludwig began. "Here's what you do when you want to take off…"

"Take off!" Lemmy screamed. "You mean as in….**flying** take off!?"

"No Lemmy, I'm talking about shoes. What do you think I mean by take off?!"

"Okay," Lemmy said nervously. He swallowed a lump forming in his throat. He didn't want to do it, but he also knew that there wasn't much of a choice. EIther they fly, or they get beat up.

"Alright, here's what you do," said Ludwig. "Take a deep breath…"

Lemmy did just that.

"Good! Now let it out _as slowly as possible_!"

Lemmy was about to do just that when he felt his nose began to itch crazily.

"Ah...ah...AHCHOO!"

Lemmy and Ludwig zipped up into the air so quickly that Ludwig almost let go of Lemmy. Lemmy rubbed his nose and let out a content sigh before realizing that he was in the air. Both of the Koopalings screamed as Lemmy started dive back down toward the ground. By some miracle, Lemmy managed to pull up and start flying straight. That wasn't much of an improvement though, as Lemmy wobbled and shook crazily, giving Ludwig severe motion sickness.

"I'm gonna be sick; I"M GONNA BE SICK!" Ludwig said as his face turned green. He covered his mouth with his land just as he and Lemmy crashed into a window. They zoomed throughout the different rooms of Bowser's Castle, causing a panic in the servants they passed. When they passed by Bowser's room in the hallway, they could hear him addressing a question to Kamek.

"Do you think buying Junior his own country would be a good idea?"

"They then burst out of another window. Lemmy looked down and felt so afraid that he let out a little scream. It felt like he was a mile off the ground.

"Ludwig, how do I stop?"

"Just imagine yourself stopping in your head!"

"Okay!" Lemmy closed his eyes to help himself visualize that.

"No wait; I forgot to specify!" Ludwig screamed. "You have to imagine…!"

Lemmy and Ludwig screamed as they plummeted toward the ground. When they landed, they made such a large impact that a seven foot crater formed when they landed. Dust flew everywhere, and the two Koopalings had to do an extra amount of coughing and blinking to get rid of any access dirt. Once they had finished, a shadow crossed over them.

"Ha!" the paratroopa said as he peered at the Koopalings in the hole. "Nice flying, losers! I've seen ten ton weights that are more aerodynamic than that!"

"Yeah!" the goomba said with a laugh as he joined his friend. "But really, do you have to be so hard on them specifically? It's not like the rest of the Koopalings were much better!"

"That's true!" said the paratroopa. "It's no wonder they are always losing to Mario; they are all terrible fighters!"

The paratroopa and the goomba broke out into laughter together. Ludwig felt his blood boil as he glared at them. Lemmy felt shame entrap him as he looked at the floor. The sledge brother came up and gave Ludwig and Lemmy a smug smirk.

"Koopalings. More like weaklings."

With one last laugh, the gang waltzed away. Lemmy and Ludwig climbed out of the hole. This gave them a chance to see just how wrecked up their siblings were.

"Oh man," Roy said with a groan. "My back is killing me!"

"At least you still have your back," Ludwig said bitterly.

Lemmy felt so bad for Ludwig that he wanted to wrap him in a hug. That is, until Ludwig turned toward him with a scowl.

"Nice going."

As Ludwig walked away, not only did Lemmy want to wrap him in a hug, he now also felt like crying his eyes out.


	10. Trapped Part 1

Chapter 10 Trapped Part 1

Lemmy entered the room that he and Ludwig shared. He looked at Ludwig's bed, still unmade from when he got out of it this morning. Then he looked at his bed and smiled.

"Hey everyone! It's me Lemmy!" he said to his sock monkeys. "You probably don't recognize me because I'm in Ludwig's body at the moment. Ludwig is in the lab right now; you would recognize him if you saw him!"

Lemmy scanned over his multi colored stuffed animals before his eyes fell upon the pink one he called Ernesta. He picked her up and sighed sadly.

"I don't like this one bit; I feel trapped." Suddenly there was a knock on the door. "Come in!"

Roy and Larry entered the room. Lemmy instantly felt better.

"Hi guys; what's up?"

"Roy's not doing too hot," said Larry. Lemmy looked at Roy, and although he couldn't see his eyes, he could see that he had a miserable frown. Lemmy became concerned.

"What's the matter?"

Roy let out a sigh.

"This is all my fault," he said. "If I had just kept my mouth shut, then none of this would have happened. I'm so stupid."

"No Roy, you're not stupid!" Lemmy objected.

"Except that I am! And you can't change that Lemmy; it doesn't matter what you say."

Lemmy started to feel miserable himself. Then he got an idea.

"Roy, it doesn't matter whether you are stupid or not. You are my brother, which automatically makes you awesome." Lemmy got up and moved toward the closet. "And I'm not gonna let my awesome younger brother feel this way!"

Lemmy went into the closet. Larry and Roy could hear him rummaging around in there, and they became curious. Finally, Lemmy reemerged. He was wearing a clown suit, and his face was decorated with every type of makeup that a traditional clown would wear. He even put some hair chalk in Ludwig's hair, making it look lavender. Roy and Larry's eyes practically popped out of their sockets.

"Woah!"

"I know!" Lemmy exclaimed cheerfully. "What do you guys think?"

"It's...colorful," Roy said with a genuinely appreciative smile and inflection.

"But will Ludwig be okay with it?" asked Larry. Lemmy giggled.

"He won't mind. Now, get ready for the greatest show in the world!"

...

In the lab, Ludwig was laying in an exam chair, his countenance grumpy. Wendy stood beside him while Morton examined him.

"Well, no bones appear to be broken," Morton said after he had finished. "You seem to be okay."

Ludwig scoffed.

"You mean _aside _from the fact that I'm in the wrong body?"

Morton just stared at Ludwig stoically. Wendy, on the other hand, looked at the eldest empathetically.

"You know," she said, "hearing your voice come out of Lemmy's mouth is really awkward."

"Oh, it's awkward for you?" Ludwig asked as he turned toward Wendy. "Well how do you think I feel!?" He sighed and shook his head. "This is the worst day of my life. Well...my adult life, anyway."

Morton gave Wendy a look, and the two of them moved to the other side of the room. Ludwig followed them and sighed in frustration when he found out he could not reach the lab table while sitting on one of the stools anymore.

"Do we have a phone book?"

"A what?" Wendy asked. Ludwig scoffed.

"Oh forget it; I'll just stand." Ludwig stood up on the stool, finally allowing himself to reach the tabletop. He directed his eyes downward. "That fight was a disaster. And now because of Lemmy, that gang is going to see me as an incompetent special with a high pitched voice."

"You sound bitter," Morton said. Ludwig stared at him with a face that screamed _duh!_

"Wow Morton. You don't say!" Wendy laughed a little.

"Well, it could be worse," she said. "I mean, just be thankful you didn't have to go to the bathroom yet."

A look of discomfort flew across Ludwig's face, as well as a glimmer of recollection.

"Wait a minute. Did you go to the bathroom?" Wendy asked.

"Yep! I did!" Ludwig exclaimed. "And I lost about half of my dignity in the process." He sighed. "Needless to say, I'm looking forward to getting my body back."

Morton gave a tiny smile.

"Wow Ludwig, you don't say."

Ludwig looked down at the table again. He looked like he was deep in thought, but he also looked like he was struggling.

"You okay?" Wendy asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"What's the matter?"

"It's nothing! Don't worry about it."

"Ludwig," said Morton, "you can tell us." Ludwig relented and let out a sigh.

"I don't want to get stuck like this," Ludwig admitted. Then he shook his head as he reevaluated what he had said. "No...I can't get stuck like this. I can't live outside my own body!"

Wendy and Morton didn't know how to respond to this. It was obvious that Ludwig needed reassurance at this time.

"Well...," Wendy began. "Even without your powers, you're still..."

"Except this isn't about the powers, okay?" Ludwig shouted. "My body is part of who I am. If you take a person away from their body, then they are no longer a person. And right now, I don't feel like a person. I feel like half a person, at best."

Ludwig looked like he was in agony. Morton and Wendy could see that his hand was shaking.

"And yes, I have to go through constant agony everyday to make sure I don't explode. But as bad as my struggles are, at least they're mine!"

Wendy and Morton were stunned. They knew that Ludwig was struggling with the swap, but they had no idea how intense the pain was.

"Wow, I'm sorry," Wendy said. "I can't imagine how hard that must be."

Ludwig let out a pained sigh.

"At best, this situation is awkward and uncomfortable. At _worst_...it's creepy and disgusting. But that...not even THAT can begin to describe what this is like. I mean..." Ludwig shook his head again. "You guys have pointed out how misplaced my voice is right now, but that juxtaposition cannot convey my current emotions. You're right Wendy...you guys can't understand this."

Ludwig looked like he was going to burst into tears. Considering that he was in the body of the happy go lucky Lemmy, this looked bizarre. Considering that he was actually the poised and composed Ludwig, this was even weirder. However, when both of these factors were considered along with what Ludwig had just said, then this display became heartbreaking. Wendy felt like crying herself. Morton, however, was contemplating this.

"_We_ can't," he said softly, "but I bet Lemmy can."

Ludwig's expression shifted to surprise.

"Lemmy?" he asked. "But...he's still happy like he always is."

"Was he happy when we went to fight the gang?" Morton asked. "Was he happy when he found out you swapped?"

Ludwig looked hesitant as he thought about this, as if he was afraid of the possibility.

"Well, no..." Then he sighed. He shook his head and closed his eyes. "Oh man, I'm an idiot!" He looked at Morton. "I owe him an apology, don't I?"

"Yes," Morton said with a nod. "And you also need to tell him how you feel."

Ludwig nodded.

"You're right. After all, a trade of anything does require at least two parties." He turned to his sister. "Wendy, do you have a mirror?"

"Oh, yeah," said Wendy. She pulled out a compact from her hammerspace. "It's not very big."

"That's okay," said Ludwig. "I just need a visual."

Wendy handed the compact to Ludwig. He opened it and stared into the mirror. For the first time, he noticed that there was dirt under his eyes, and his hair was disheveled.

"I put effort into my appearance, might as well do the same for Lemmy's," Ludwig said. "Morton, can you get me a wet wipe?".

Morton did just that. Ludwig washed his new face clean. He then straightened the locks of Lemmy's mohawk. Once he had finished, he smiled at his reflection.

"Okay. I'm going."


	11. Trapped Part 2

Chapter 11 Trapped Part 2

Lemmy was having a blast with Roy and Larry. He was juggling three items: a one up mushroom, a rubber chicken, and a banana peel. Everything that was in his hands plummeted to the ground when he heard a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" Lemmy asked.

"Hey, Lemmy, it's Ludwig. Look, I know this might sound a little weird coming from me, but I really need to talk to you."

"Uh oh," Larry said nervously. Lemmy felt a pit fill his stomach; a pit filled with dread.

"Is this about the swap?" he asked.

"Well, yes actually," Ludwig responded. "You see, this whole...mess that were in? It's had more of an impact on me than I realized, and I imagine that you're feeling the same way."

"No!" Lemmy screamed. "I'm doing great; in fact, I'm doing swimmingly!"

Ludwig felt confusion settle in.

"Swimmingly?"

"Yeah, swimmingly! It's like the word swimming! You know, backstroke? Butterfly? Doggy paddle?"

Lemmy's heart was thumping in his chest as he waited for Ludwig's response. _Please Ludwig, please don't come in_, he thought.

"Okay, you're obviously lying; I'm coming in," Ludwig said.

"NO!" Lemmy screamed. He cast a scared look at Larry and Roy. "Quick! Cover for me while I get the makeup off!"

With that, Lemmy ducked back into the closet. Larry and Roy exchanged nervous glances with each other before slowly opening the door

"Hey Ludwig," Larry said as coolly as his nervous self would allow. "What's up?"

"Roy? Larry? What are you doing in my room?" asked Ludwig.

"Uh..." Larry hesitated. "We're uh...cleaning! We're cleaning!"

Ludwig gave them both an incredulous look.

"Mmhm." He crossed his arms. "And Lemmy has the plague, right?"

Roy chuckled nervously.

"Uh, Lemmy? Who's Lemmy?" Larry gently elbowed him in the stomach. "Oh! I mean, can't two bros clean the bedroom of two of their other bros? I mean, that's totally not weird!"

Suddenly, a crash could be heard, similar to a dresser or a book shelf tipping over.

"What was that!?" Ludwig asked in alarm. Roy became hesitant.

"Well...obviously, that's the new dishwasher we installed for you two!" Another crash could be heard, and Roy gave his brother a nervous smile. "Do you by any chance know how to disconnect the gas?"

Another crash occurred, this one accompanied by Lemmy's scream.

"Out of my way," Ludwig said to Larry and Roy. They parted to make way for him, and Ludwig started to approach the closet.

"Lemmy, what's going on?!" Ludwig yelled.

"Nothing! Nothing's going on! Just please, don't come in here!"

"Lemmy, what did you do to me?"

"Uh...helped you out immensely?"

Ludwig snickered frustratedly and opened the closet door. When he stepped inside he flipped the light switch on. The first things he saw were the bookshelves that toppled over. Books were strewn all about the floor in a disorganized mess.

"My books!" Ludwig exclaimed. His eyes then traveled up to Lemmy. Ludwig let out a horrified gasp when he saw Lemmy in clown attire and makeup. Lemmy chuckled nervously.

"Hey Ludwig," he said softly. "You uh...you feeling better?"

Ludwig's mouth hung open in shock for a few seconds before his expression became angry.

"Lemmy, why are you wearing a clown suit? Wait no, let me rephrase that; WHY AM I WEARING A CLOWN SUIT!?"

Lemmy started to twiddle his thumbs.

"Well, Roy and Larry weren't feeling so well, so I decide to cheer them up." He put on a smile. "What do you think? Do you like my costume?"

"Like?" Ludwig asked. "LIKE!? What's there to like? You look like you crawled out of someone's childhood nightmares!"

Suddenly, Ludwig noticed something else. He looked like he would faint as he pointed at Lemmy.

"My...my..."

"What? What's the matter?"

"My HAIR!" Ludwig cried in terror and dismay. "It's...it's PURPLE!"

Lemmy didn't know what to do now. Larry and Roy entered the closet upon hearing Ludwig's scream.

"I've got purple hair," Ludwig told Larry and Roy. His voice sounded weak and fragile. Nevertheless, Roy smiled.

"Yeah. Doesn't it look good?

"Not on me it doesn't; my hair's supposed to be blue!" Ludwig turned back to Lemmy. "Lemmy, did you dye my hair?"

"What? No!" Lemmy exclaimed defensively. "It's hair chalk! Ludwig, I would never dye your hair!"

"But you would do anything else, right?" Ludwig asked angrily. Lemmy tried to think of a counterargument but was unable to at the moment. He sighed in defeat.

"Lemmy, wash that makeup off right now!"

Lemmy glanced at Roy and Larry. Their frowns ignited this anger inside him.

"No!"

"No?"

"I don't want to!" Suddenly, an electric bolt appeared and zapped Ludwig in the chest. Lemmy gasped in horror as Ludwig lay on the floor.

"Oh my goodness! Ludwig, are you okay?"

Ludwig sat up. A red hot fury sparkled in his eyes. He let out a furious growl and lunged at Lemmy. Thankfully, Lemmy was quick enough to dodge. Ludwig was practically fuming as he changed course and stared at Lemmy like an angry bull. Terrified, Lemmy bolted from the closet and ran out of the bedroom. Ludwig followed him, this time at a speed faster than what he was accustomed to in his own body.

"Wendy, Morton, help!" Lemmy cried when he entered the lab.

"Lemmy?" Wendy asked. "What's going..."

Wendy stopped when she saw Ludwig tackle Lemmy to the ground. They wrestled on the lab floor. Thankfully, they were in the open area of the lab, so nothing toxic or hazardous was falling on them. Wendy tried to pry the two of them apart with the help of Larry and Roy. Morton, stood on the sidelines.

"Please stop!"

That didn't work. Morton decided to raise his voice.

"Stop!"

Nothing. Morton let out a weary and frustrated sigh. He then grabbed Lemmy and Ludwig by the hair and dragged them over near the stair case. He looked at them with a dark, thunderous frustration.

"Knock it off. Both of you."

Ludwig and Lemmy exchanged a look. Then Ludwig shook his head and left the lab.

"Ludwig, wait!" Lemmy said as he scrambled to his feet. He stepped out into the hallway and saw Ludwig's retreating back.

"Ludwig!" To Lemmy's relief, Ludwig stopped. "I'm sorry. I thought you'd be..."

"Save it, Lemonade," Ludwig said bitterly. "I don't want to hear it."

"Ludwig..." Lemmy sighed sadly. "I just wanted to make Roy and Larry feel better."

Ludwig felt like screaming.

_Roy and Larry? _he thought._ What about me? I'm trapped in your body for crying out loud!_

Ludwig didn't say that though. Instead he let out a sigh.

"Well now you can do whatever you want. I don't care." With that, he walked off to his room.


	12. Crying Another's Tears

Chapter 12 Crying Another's Tears

Ludwig could not recall a time when he had felt this angry. His thoughts were racing at a million miles an hour and his neck was starting to ache from so much tension. He supposed on some level he should be thankful that he was in Lemmy's body. If he had his powers at the moment, then the whole castle would be ablaze.

When Ludwig finally got to his room, he noticed that his bed was unmade. This frustrated him even more; he appreciated a well made bed. He decided to fix that, as he knew that cleaning was a useful coping mechanism. However, all it did was call attention to how he could no longer access telekinesis. If he could, his bed would have been made within a quarter of the time.

After what felt like an eternity, Ludwig finally made his bed to his liking. While on top of the blue comforter adorned mattress, Ludwig tried to do a breathing technique to calm himself down. Unfortunately, all that did was remind him that he couldn't fly anymore. Ludwig screamed into his pillow just as Lemmy came into the room. Ludwig looked up and stared into Lemmy's face. No scratch that; his own face.

"Ludwig," Lemmy said softly. "Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?"

Ludwig studied Lemmy's costume and let out a sigh.

"Take off the suit and get in the shower."

"The shower?" Lemmy asked in surprise. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," Ludwig said with a soft, exasperated voice. "Just...make it quick. You're not going on a sight seeing tour; your just passing through."

Lemmy nodded hesitantly and stepped into the bathroom. He could hear the water running, acting as nothing more than white noise. Ludwig looked down at his hand again. He could see every vein, every print on every fingertip. It was such a familiar sight, yet at the same time completely alien.

Ludwig then got out of his bed and slowly made his way toward the mirror on the left hand wall. He stared into it for a while. While the face was Lemmy's, the expression was his. And right now, his expression was making Lemmy's face looked tired. There was also something a little off. While all the features were the same, the face looked a little different. It looked older, more beaten down. It looked like Lemmy had lived Ludwig's life. Ludwig let out a breath and directed his attention toward Lemmy's mohawk.

"Ugh. How can he stand this mohawk? These colors are so tacky." He grabbed a hold of and examined Lemmy's ponytail. "And didn't I tell him he needed to cut this?"

This was definitely not Ludwig's cup of tea. He looked back into the mirror and saw Lemmy's eyes grow wide with realization and terror.

"Oh man; I can't conduct an orchestra like this! Nobody will take me seriously!"

This was a problem, a big one. Ludwig loved music, he loved it to know end. If he couldn't play his music for everyone, then what was the point of playing at all? Ludwig stared at Lemmy and snickered.

"Yeah, serious: the word of the day. I bet that's a foreign concept to you, isn't it Lemmy? This is my impression of you." Ludwig put on a cheery, saccharine smile. "Hi, I'm Lemmy! I smile at rain clouds, hug random strangers, and try to ignore the fact that I'm painfully short!" Ludwig's face fell back into distress. "Why can't you take things seriously just once? Why can't you be..." Ludwig felt the familiar grip of depression grab hold of him, causing him to sigh. "More like me?"

Ludwig stared into his brother's eyes. The sight in the mirror was truly a sight to behold. Lemmy was never sad. Lemmy was the happy one, Ludwig was not. Lemmy was the jokester, Ludwig was not. Lemmy was the optimist. Ludwig was not.

_I can't be Lemmy, _Ludwig thought. _This body swap is proof of that._

Ludwig sullenly got back in his bed. He rubbed his eyes with his palms before pulling the covers up and laying on his side.

"Why did it have to be us, Lemmy?" he asked out loud. "Out of all the people in the world, why..." he wrapped his arms around his pillow ... "did it have to be you and me?"

Ludwig tightly squeezed the pillow. Everything that he thought he knew about himself was no longer true. Everything that he had has been given to someone else. Ludwig considered humming to calm himself down. After all, his voice was the only part of himself that he had left. However, he ultimately decided against it; it would just be another painful reminder of who he used to be. He allowed a single, solitary tear to escape from his eye just as Lemmy came out of the bathroom.

"Woo," Lemmy said in satisfaction. "That wasn't so bad."

Ludwig allowed his eyes to drift toward his younger brother. Aside from some white residue the makeup was completely gone. The hair chalk was gone as well, much to Ludwig's relief. Unfortunately, the relief did not overshadow Ludwig's anger towards Lemmy.

"I can't believe you did that," he said.

"What?" asked Lemmy. "The shower or the show? Cause you were the one who told me to get in..."

"The show!" Ludwig exclaimed. "I mean, why would you do that to me?"

Lemmy smiled. He went over to his bed and put Ludwig's royal blue cloak back on. Ludwig could tell that he was being extra careful with the Jasper button.

"I like performing; I think it's fun! You should try it sometime."

Ludwig scoffed.

"The only things I perform are symphonies." Ludwig felt a surge of sadness run through his soul at the mention of his music. He glanced over and noticed that his hair was messed up. "And can you fix my hair? I look like a psychotic maniac."

Lemmy ran his hands through Ludwig's hair, messing it up even more.

"Better?"

"Not even slightly."

Lemmy did it again, making Ludwig look ridiculous.

"How about now?"

Ludwig stared at Lemmy for a second.

"You know what? Just bring me a comb, I'll do it myself."

Lemmy went into the bathroom and came back out with a comb. He sat cross legged on the bed as Ludwig started running the comb through.

"You know, Roy and Larry liked my show," Lemmy said. "I think it helped them."

"Oh, well good for them." Ludwig said sardonically.

"I also think I performed really well, all things considered," Lemmy continued. "I wish you could have seen me."

"Oh, I saw you alright."

"You did?"

"Oh yeah. You were...all dressed up like nothing was wrong! Like everything is normal!" Ludwig put down the comb and sat over the edge of his bed. "And who am I...to say that that's wrong!?"

Ludwig could feel his heart hammering, his arms quivering. He took a big, shaky breath as he felt his eyes start to water with warm tears.

"Ludwig, are you okay?" Lemmy asked gently.

"No!" Ludwig turned toward his brother. "I'm not okay Lemmy; I'm terrified! More than I've ever been in my life! And the worst part is I can't do anything about it because nobody has done this before! **Nobody** understands this!"

Ludwig saw that Lemmy's expression was difficult to read. He turned away and stared at the floor, his breathing becoming labored.

"I'm scared," he continued, "that I could very possibly lose everything I have. I'm scared..." he took a deep breath. "That twenty years from now, I'm gonna look in a mirror and see a face that isn't mine. I'm scared...that _this_..." he gestured back and forth between him and Lemmy..."is gonna become the norm. That's why I need you Lemmy, more than I've ever needed you before. I've been facing my demons for years and I'm tired of fighting them alone! Please, Lemmy, tell me you get that; tell me you understand!"

Ludwig was still staring at the floor. He cast a quick glance at Lemmy and saw that his eyes were closed. He looked thoughtful. He looked like he was also in pain.

"I do understand," he finally said. "Because I'm scared too. Of everything you just said. But...I try not to let it bother me because...if I let fear take over...then I am letting fear win."

Ludwig let out another deep breath.

"So you do the same thing with fear that I do with anger."

Ludwig directed his gaze toward the floor again. His emotions were becoming overwhelming.

"Ludwig, it's gonna be okay."

Ludwig sniffled as the tears in his eyes became visible.

"You don't know that." His voice was starting to break.

"It will be; I promise," Lemmy said reassuringly. "And even if it isn't, you still have me. You will always have me."

Ludwig then turned to Lemmy and wrapped his arms around. The tears were starting to flow, and Ludwig was letting out little sobs as well.

"I can't handle this Lemmy. I feel _trapped."_

"I know," Lemmy said softly. "I know."

Ludwig clung to Lemmy, Lemmy cradled Ludwig in his arms. For the first time in a long time, all of Ludwig's emotional defenses had been taken down. He was in a position of vulnerability, and he didn't even care. Sobs escaped from his mouth like the notes to a song, and Lemmy held onto him like the good brother that he was. Ludwig could feel tear drops land on his shoulder. Lemmy was crying as well.

After about a minute, Ludwig let go. He looked at Lemmy and saw that Lemmy's eyes...his eyes...were pink and wet. He smiled.

"I guess this means we have a bond now."

Lemmy smiled back.

"I guess you're right."

Ludwig let out a deep breath, and Lemmy did the same. There was a brief period of silence.

"You know," Ludwig finally spoke up. "I criticize you a lot, but I am genuinely impressed that you've managed to hold up this well. What's your secret? Do you have a happy place?"

Lemmy considered this. Then he smiled.

"I do have a happy place."

"Can you tell me about it?"

Lemmy turned to Ludwig with a grin.

"I think I can show it to you."


	13. My Name

Chapter 13 My Name

Ludwig sat alone in the throne room. It was dark, very dark. It was so dark that Ludwig was starting to feel a little nervous. It didn't help that Lemmy had been gone for a long time.

Ludwig let out a sigh and started drumming his fingers on the royal carpet. This just made his impatience act up even more, so he inadvertently started to hum the melody to "Walk on the Wild Side." Then he started to sing the first verse.

_I've been to many places_

_Around the world_

_It's kind of an extensive list._

_._

_I've seen World 5, World 6_

_And Pipe Land too._

_But I've never seen a place like this_

_._

_To say it's logical_

_Would be a straight up lie_

_But if you wanna_

_See it_

_Experience it_

_Then come with me and try_

_._

_To take a walk on the wild side._

"I'm back!"

Ludwig saw Lemmy approaching him with a flashlight in hand. He had the hood of Ludwig's cloak pulled up, and one of his arms was being concealed by the folds of the cloak. He also had a grin on his face.

"Finally!" Ludwig responded. "Where have you been? You've been gone for the past two hours!"

Lemmy grinned sheepishly.

"Sorry about that. Kamek's study was really locked up tight."

Ludwig's eyes grew wide.

"You broke into Kamek's study? Lemmy, Kamek is gonna kill me!"

"No he's not," Lemmy responded with a chuckle. "I didn't make too much of a mess. All I did was take two little things."

Lemmy pushed aside the folds of the cloak. There were two items in his hand: Kamek's wand and a shiny crystal ball. The latter was so transparent it looked like it was made out of glass.

"A memory sphere?" Ludwig asked.

Lemmy nodded happily. Memory spheres were used to see into another's memories. They were really delicate and really rare. That is, unless your name was Kamek. Kamek had at least ten that Ludwig was aware of.

"Lemmy, why...?"

"I told you I wanted to show you my happy place." Lemmy sat cross legged down on the ground and pulled Ludwig's hood back. He stared at the ball intently.

"Observus pastel Lemmy hoppi!"

The memory sphere started to glow a carnation pink. Lemmy looked at Ludwig expectantly.

"Well, go ahead!"

"Go ahead?" Ludwig asked. "Oh no. No no no; I am not doing that."

"Why not?"

"Because...it's... " Ludwig sighed. "It just seems too personal." Lemmy laughed.

"You are literally in my body right now! Come on Ludwig, I want you to see this. We didn't choose to swap bodies, but I am choosing to show you this."

Ludwig looked at Lemmy. He looked so eager and excited. Ludwig looked back at the memory sphere.

"Okay."

...

_I feel sad._

_I don't know why though. The past few days have been fun. I got to watch Larry play with my old plushies. I even got to see Morton say his first words. He said "Mort," which is really cute and really funny. So why am I sad?_

_"Hey champ. Are you okay?"_

_I look up and see Bowser. He is smiling._

_"You don't look so good, Lems." _

_I let out a sigh._

_"I am sad," I say._

_"Is this because you miss Ludwig?"_

_Oh wow, he's right! That is why I am sad! I miss Luddy!_

_"Yeah," I say. Bowser chuckles and pulls me onto his lap. We sit on the throne together._

_"You sure do love your brother, don't you?"_

_"Yeah!" I shout. Bowser puts his hand to his ear (I don't know why though)._

_"Do you love all of your brothers?" he asks._

_"Yeah!" I say as I bounce up and down on his lap._

_"And your sister too?"_

_"Yeah!" Suddenly I hear a sound come from the entrance hall. Bowser smiles._

_"Do you think that could be him?"_

_I instantly feel excited. I jump off his lap and race toward the front door. When I get there I gasp._

_"Luddy!" I __wrap my arms around Luddy. "I missed you so much!"_

_"I missed you too, Lemmy." I let him go._

_"Are you okay? You sound sad." There is a moment of silence before he answers._

_"Yeah; I'm okay." Suddenly, his eyes brighten. "Do you wanna see something cool?" He reaches into his hammmerspace and pulls out an orange jewel. I stare._

_"It's an orange diamond!" I say. Luddy laughs._

_"Actually, it's a jasper," he says. "I wanna do something special with it."_

_"Ooh! How about you make it into a button?"_

_"A button?"_

_"Yeah! Like for a sweater! Or a video game controller!"_

_Luddy laughs _

_"I'll think about it."_

...

Ludwig finally felt himself being drawn out. He looked at Lemmy, who looked so jubilantly happy his face almost appeared to be glowing. This was not at all how Ludwig felt.

"I can't believe you remember that," he said softly.

"I do. That is my happiest memory." Lemmy pulled the memory sphere over to him and stared at his reflection. "I didn't realize how much I missed you until you came back. But when you did, I was so happy. That is why I am happy all the time. Whenever I am feeling sad, I think of you coming back home, and I feel better."

Ludwig was shocked. He gawked at his younger brother.

"I mean that much to you?"

Lemmy nodded. This caused a wave of guilt to fall on Ludwig. He stared at the rhombus shaped jasper that served as the button for his cloak.

"Lemmy. Do you...do you know how I got the jasper?"

"No," Lemmy said. "You never told me."

"Well," Ludwig began. "I made a mistake. A huge mistake. I ended up hurting a lot of people."

Lemmy smiled warmly.

"So what? We all mess up every now and then."

"No Lemmy...'messed up' doesn't even begin to describe it. Most of the damage I've done can't be undone. And if you found out what I did...you would hate me."

Now it was Lemmy's turn to look shocked. However, the shock quickly melted away. He put his hand on Ludwig's shoulder, his eyes filled with adoration.

"Ludwig, that is not true. There is nothing that you could do to make me hate you. When I told Bowser I loved you in the memory, I meant it. And you couldn't stop me from loving you even if you killed me."

Ludwig stared at Lemmy. To say he was shocked would be an understatement. As he looked at Lemmy, he was feeling so many emotions that he couldn't possibly name all of them.

"Lemmy..."

Lemmy smiled and pulled away. Ludwig dried a tear from his eyes.

"I would never kill you Lems, for innumerable reasons. One of which being I love you too."

Lemmy's smile got even bigger. Ludwig, however, let out a sigh.

"But that doesn't change the fact that I'm stuck in here."

Lemmy looked surprised.

"You mean in my body?"

"Yeah," Ludwig said as he nodded. Lemmy considered this.

"Well, we don't have to worry," he said. "Iggy will find the duplighost soon. We'll get our bodies back."

"Except that isn't the only problem Lemmy," Ludwig said with a miserable sigh. "We didn't just swap bodies; we swapped identities. We swapped personalities, we swapped names, we swapped lives; we swapped everything." Ludwig grabbed a hold of the memory sphere. "And it doesn't matter how we feel, because we can't change what we see in this."

Lemmy came over and stared at his reflection in the glass. Ludwig's was right next to his, and he looked sad beyond belief.

"Or can we?" Lemmy asked. "After all, that's how we got into this mess."

Ludwig let out a breath.

"Maybe. I don't know. I mean, I'm usually the pessimist and you're usually the optimist. But right now, our roles are reversed." He put the memory sphere on the ground. "And that is why I can't be you. I can't be an optimist, I don't understand it on the fundamental level. How can I possibly be happy right now? I'm trapped in a body that isn't mine; how can I possibly be optimistic?"

Ludwig's eyes were starting to water. Lemmy stared at him in silence.

"Right now," Ludwig continued, "my voice is the only part of my physical self that I have left. And I cannot listen to it. My voice_my beautiful voice, the voice I know better than any other_whenever I hear it coming out of this mouth, I am in **agony!** This also why I have a hard time looking at you Lemmy, because these two factors remind me if what I used to be. What I'm supposed to be; what I WANT to be!"

Ludwig wasn't crying yet, but he was getting pretty close. He dried his eyes again.

"I was talking with Wendy and Morton in the lab earlier. I told them...that right now, I don't feel like a person. And that's because, at this very moment, I am not a person! Because what a person is on the inside should not contradict what they are on the outside like this! I am not a person, I'm a paradox! I'm a conundrum! A person can't exist outside their body, so that means logically, I can't exist outside my body. The Ludwig von Koopa that you and I know...he doesn't exist anymore. He's dead." Now the tears were starting to fall. "Lemmy, I'm dead! That's why I know I will never be myself again. I may be a special, but I can't come back from the dead."

Lemmy was stunned. He stared at Ludwig in horror. Was this reallly how he felt?

"Ludwig..."

"No," Ludwig interrupted. "You can't call me that. That's not who I am anymore. That's not my name; it's yours_. You're _Ludwig." Ludwig shook out his head and let out a small, weak breath. "I'm Lemmy."

Lemmy stared at his brother. This couldn't be true; Ludwig couldn't be dead. If he was dead, that meant that Lemmy was dead.

"Okay," Lemmy said slowly. "You're right. I am Ludwig. But who is Ludwig? Well, the way I see him...Ludwig is a genius."

Ludwig looked at Lemmy in surprise. Lemmy exhaled through the mouth.

"My name is Ludwig von Koopa. If you count remixes and vocal tracks, I have written a total of 885 songs. I know the name of each one of them, and I can hum each of their melodies by heart. I am also a special. My powers are tied to my emotions, so I can't express myself the way others do. So, I turn to sarcasm. When I am sarcastic, I point out the irony in not just my life, but others lives as well. By doing this, I can make others realize how hilarious everything is. I am also a leader, a fighter, an artist, a warrior, an intellectual, and a brother. Now, if I am Ludwig, and I am all these things...why can't I also be Lemmy?"

Ludwig turned away from Lemmy, his eyes starting to water with tears again.

"Lemmy," he said weakly, "you're brilliant."

"No Ludwig, you're brilliant. You said you've been facing your demons for years. Well that's what I'm doing right now; I'm facing your demons. That's how I know that you are amazing."

Ludwig hesitated for just a moment before wrapping Lemmy in another hug. He was smiling while the tears fell.

"I love you, Lems," he said softly. "I've always loved you, but I didn't realize just how much until now. I am proud to be called your brother."

"Ludwig, at this point, you're more than just my brother. You're me."

Ludwig laughed.

"And that is the greatest honor that has ever been bestowed on me."


	14. Training Time

Chapter 14 Training Time

Lemmy held onto Ludwig. When Ludwig finally pulled away, they smiled at each other lovingly. Then Lemmy realized how much of a predicament they were in, and his face fell.

"What's the matter?" Ludwig asked.

"Nothing," Lemmy responded. "It's just..." He sighed. "I think it's gonna be hard to defeat the duplighost. I mean, if I can't control your powers, then..."

Ludwig laughed.

"Oh please; you're making a big deal out of nothing. We can fix that easily; all I need to do is teach you some stuff."

"Are you sure that will work?" Lemmy asked.

"Well, I am supposed to be an optimist," Ludwig said. "So yeah, I think it will work!"

Lemmy smiled.

"Okay. So, when do you think would be a good time to train?"

Ludwig returned the smile.

"There's no time like the present!"

...

Lemmy looked up at the moon. It was very bright tonight, making up for when the smoky, volcanic clouds blocked it out the night before. Because of this, artificial lights weren't necessary to see. The air was also really brisk and cool. Lemmy had to pull Ludwig's cloak tighter around himself to preserve body heat.

Speaking of Ludwig, where was he? He had said that he wanted to do something before he came outside. Lemmy started to wonder what exactly he was doing when he came out. He had a silver thermos in his hands.

"What is that?" Lemmy asked.

"It's just coffee," Ludwig responded. Lemmy's eyes brightened.

"May I try?"

Ludwig handed over the thermos. Lemmy took a sip and cringed in disgust.

"Ugh. It's too sweet."

"Yeah, that's one difference between your palette and mine," Ludwig said with a chuckle. "You require at least twenty mountains of sugar before you can taste anything."

Lemmy laughed.

"Well no you know why I put sprinkles on my salad!"

Ludwig shook his head and rolled his eyes. Then he took a deep breath, putting on an authoritative face.

"Okay, what do you want to start with?"

Lemmy thought about this. He didn't think he would make much progress with Ludwig's emotion based powers, as he had trouble getting angry on command. So, he reasoned that he might as well start with the most fun of the four.

"Flying!"

"I had a feeling you'd say that," Ludwig said with a smile. He gestured for Lemmy to follow him. Ludwig brought Lemmy around to the west side of the castle, where there was a small, circular track.

"Oh hey! Iggy uses this to test his vehicles!" Lemmy pointed out.

"Yep." Ludwig took a seat on one of the bleachers, and Lemmy stepped right in front of the starting line. Lemmy took a deep breath and let it out slowly. This caused him to rise about a foot into the air.

"Nice. You're one step ahead of me," Ludwig said proudly. "Okay, lesson one: I'm gonna teach you how to adjust your speed."

Lemmy looked over and saw his brother take a deep breath.

"Okay. In order to adjust your speed, you need to visualize something you can compare yourself to. For example, when I want to go fast I think of myself as a cheetah. When I want to go slow, I think of myself as a snail. It's basic, but it gives you the basic idea."

Lemmy nodded and glanced around the track.

"I want to go at a normal speed," he said.

"Alright. So, what do you think would go at a normal speed?"

Lemmy thought about this. Then a grin appeared on his face.

_A butterfly!_

With that, Lemmy willed himself to go forward. To his surprise, he found that he was going faster than he wanted to. He needed a new metaphor.

_I am a turtle_.

Lemmy slowed down significantly. At this speed, flying was actually rather soothing. He looked back at Ludwig with a smile, and Ludwig gave him a thumbs up.

"Do you remember how to steer?" Ludwig called out to him.

Lemmy thought about this. He recalled that when he and Ludwig were flying earlier, Lemmy could change direction by leaning. He decided to put that method to the test again. When he came onto the left hand turn, he leaned in to the left. When he managed to successfully make the turn, Lemmy got so excited that he decided to speed up.

_I'm a racecar!_

Lemmy went zooming down the track. Now that he felt like he had a decent sense of control, he found that flying at a quicker pace was quite exciting. When he came to a stop right in front of the finish line, Ludwig applauded.

"Whoo!" Lemmy cheered. "Ludwig, that was awesome! That was so much better than running!"

"Yeah. That's why I do it," Ludwig said with a smile. A hint of sadness and longing appeared in his eyes, which made Lemmy feel concerned.

"Shall we move on?"

"Huh?" Ludwig asked, distracted and disoriented. "Oh yeah, sure." He cleared his throat. "Follow me."

Ludwig got off the bleachers with the thermos in hand. Lemmy followed him while levitating about six inches of the ground. It felt so nice that he didn't think he would ever walk again.

"Alright," Ludwig said. He placed the thermos on the ground, and Lemmy landed. "Let's try telekinesis. Now, one there is one very important thing that you have to know; you can't lift sentient beings."

"Sentient beings?" Lemmy asked. He decided to see what Ludwig meant by that. He held out his hand and focused on Ludwig. Ludwig slowly rose into the air.

"Lemmy! Put me down before...!"

That was when Lemmy felt the pain. It started in his hand, but like a bad case of chicken pox, it quickly spread. Lemmy quickly let Ludwig go, the pain still causing his arm to tingle.

"Oww!" Lemmy exclaimed.

"What a coincidence!" Ludwig said with a chuckle. "That's what I said the first time I tried that!"

Lemmy laughed. Then Ludwig directed his attention toward the thermos.

"Needless to say you want to stick with inanimate objects. Now, can you get that thermos into the air?" Ludwig nodded with approval when he saw Lemmy do it with ease. "Okay. Now, when we were fighting the gang earlier, you seemed to treat the boulder like it was separate from you."

"Well, wasn't it?" Lemmy asked.

"Technically yes," Ludwig stated. "However, when you lift an object with telekinesis...it more or less becomes an extra limb, and you have to treat it as such."

Lemmy stared at the thermos. It was hard to think of the coffee-filled container as part of him. Nevertheless, he decided to give it a try. Unfortunately, it proved to be too much of a challenge; he could not get the thing to move.

"Try positive visualization," Ludwig suggested. "That helped me when I was first learning."

"Ooh, I'm good at positive visualization!" Lemmy exclaimed as he beamed. He pictured the thermos moving in his head, and slowly it did just that.

"I did it! I'm doing it!"

Suddenly, the thermos zoomed forward and hit Lemmy in the forehead. Lemmy fell to the ground, and Ludwig gasped in concern.

"Lemmy, are you alright?"

Lemmy giggled as he held his hand to the bump forming on his forehead.

"I'm doing swimmingly!"

Ludwig chuckled.

"Alright, buddy, I think that's enough for now..."

"No!" Lemmy protested. "I want to keep going!"

Ludwig looked a little surprised before giving a smile. A small, proud smile.

"Okay."


	15. Ready to Fight

Chapter 15 Ready to Fight

The two Koopalings trained together long into the night. As it got closer to sunrise, Ludwig felt himself grow prouder and prouder of Lemmy. Lemmy noticed this, which helped increase his own confidence. By the time that they decided to stop, Lemmy had pretty much mastered Ludwig's telekinesis and flying powers.

"I'm proud of you, Lems," Ludwig said as they sat under the stars, exhausted from all the hard work. Lemmy grinned.

"Thanks, Ludwig. You were a really good teacher."

Ludwig gave a smile and a sigh.

"I've gotta say, I never thought I'd be teaching this stuff to anyone."

"Yeah," Lemmy said. "Considering the electricity based powers you have, I guess that is a real 'shock.'"

Ludwig stared at Lemmy for a second. He closed his eyes in what appeared to be frustration. Then a tiny grin appeared on his face and a tiny snort of a laugh escaped from his mouth. This caused Lemmy to gasp.

"You laughed!"

"What? No I didn't."

"Yes you did! I saw you!"

"Oh come on!" Ludwig said with a smile. "That had nothing to do with me; it's probably a reflex that you have."

"Ludwig!" Lemmy said. His eyes were twinkling and his voice came out in a squeak. "You actually found my pun funny!"

"Alright, fine, I did," Ludwig said with a mischievous grin. "Just don't tell anyone, alright?"

Lemmy nodded. Ludwig directed his attention up toward the sky.

"The moon is beautiful tonight."

Lemmy looked up as well. He smiled almost as brightly as the moon was shining.

"The stars are nice too. Have you ever gone stargazing before?"

"Not really. However, Iggy and I did get interested in astronomy a few years back." He pointed toward a cluster of stars. "That one right there is the Big Dipper. That is the Golden Lioness. And that...is the Silver Tanooki."

Lemmy squinted at the clusters. He never understood constellations. They were more or less connect the dots, but what made them confusing was that the dots did not form the pictures they were named after once they were connected.

"Hey, do you wanna know something cool?" Ludwig asked, drawing Lemmy back down to Earth. Lemmy nodded and Ludwig smiled. "You know how my powers are caused by galaxium in my blood?"

"Sure."

"Well, galaxium is also found in the stars and other celestial bodies, like prankster comets and planets."

Lemmy's eyes grew wide. That sounded so cool!

"What about starbits?" he asked.

"Yeah, it is found in starbits too," said Ludwig. "That is why magikoopa use them as the gemstones for their wands."

Lemmy smiled. Then he noticed a glow on the eastern side of the sky.

"Ludwig, the sun is starting to rise!"

Ludwig looked at the light that was starting to flood the horizon.

"So it is! I guess that means we had better head to bed."

With that, they made their way back up to their room. It wasn't until Lemmy saw his cozy bed that he realized how tired he was. He let out a yawn.

"I am so tired!" he said. Ludwig smirked.

"Me too. I gu ess that means we need more coffee." He looked into the mirror and chuckled. "Oh man; I look ridiculous!"

"Hey!" Lemmy exclaimed. "Don't make fun of me!"

"Who said anything about you?" Ludwig asked. "I could have been talking about my regular appearance, not my current one."

Lemmy smiled mischievously before he stepped in front of the mirror.

"Hmm. You're right; you do look ridiculous."

"Hey!" Ludwig said sillily.

"But that's okay," Lemmy said with a laugh. "Because so do I!"

Ludwig smiled at him. It was a very warm smile, a loving one. Then he yawned.

"Well, that's my cue," Ludwig said once he had finished yawning. He crawled into his bed. "Good night, Lemmy."

"Good night, Ludwig." Lemmy crawled into his own bed and wrapped himself in the polka dotted comforter. His eyes didn't stay shut for long though, for immediately after he closed he heard a knock on the door. He sat up and exchanged, a curious, confused look with Ludwig.

"Who is it?" Ludwig asked.

"It's us," came Larry's voice. "Can you guys let us in?"

The tone of Larry's voice sounded eager, excited, urgent. Lemmy got up and opened the door, allowing their four siblings to enter.

"You guys are never gonna believe this," Wendy said.

"Considering our current circumstances, I sincerely doubt that," said Ludwig. The smile on Wendy's face just grew wider.

"We just got a call from Iggy!"

"You did?" Lemmy asked excitedly. Ludwig bolted out of bed.

"What did he say?"

Now all four of their siblings were grinning.

"He found it!" Larry said.

"He found the duplighost!" Roy said. Lemmy felt so happy he felt like he would implode.

"That's awesome!" he said as he started to jump up and down. While Ludwig was excited too, he didn't express it nearly as intensely. He took a step closer toward his siblings.

"Where is it?"

"It's in Toad Harbor; in the Mushroom Kingdom," said Morton. "We were thinking about taking Bowser's Koopa Clown Car."

"We might need to fight the duplighost as well," said Wendy. "Would that be alright, Ludwig?"

"Do you even need to aske me that? Yes! Yes, by all means; I wanna get out of this body!"

Wendy chuckled.

"Okay then." She turned to Lemmy. "What about you, Lems?"

Lemmy hesitated. All of his previous excitement had been extinguished at the mention of a fight.

"Uh, well..."

"It'll be fine,"Ludwig said reassuringly. "I taught him how to use my powers last night. He isn't perfect, but he does have an idea of what he is doing."

Wendy smiled.

"Okay. Then let's get going!"

...

The Koopa Clown Car rose into the air. Lemmy and Ludwig's siblings noticed that they looked more comfortable and more happy than they have since they got swapped. Larry and Roy moved so they were sitting right next time.

"You guys excited?" asked Roy.

"Oh yeah," said Ludwig. "The next time I enter the castle, I'll be doing it as Ludwig!"

Larry giggled impishly.

"Ludwig? Don't you mean...Ludwig Vanessa?"

Roy and Larry giggled. All of the excitement on Ludwig's face was replaced by annoyance.

"It's not funny!"

"We're not saying it is," Larry said with a smile that implied the opposite. "We're just saying that your birth certificate says Ludwig Vanessa."

"Well, _your_ birth certificate says Lawrence Octavia. Which, coincidentally, is also the name that'll appear on your death certificate if you don't _let it go."_

That wiped the grin right off of Larry's face. He and Roy scooted over so they were closer to the front of the car. Ludwig looked at Lemmy.

"You nervous?"

"You can tell?" Lemmy responded.

"Of course."

Lemmy sighed.

"I don't know about this," he said. "What if I can't do it?"

"That's not gonna happen," said Ludwig. "You know why? Cause you're me. And the fights that I care about are the fights that I win."

"Really?" Lemmy asked. "What about the kidnapping missions?"

"Hey, I said the fights that I care about!" Ludwig laughed. "No, I think you'll do fine, Lems. You've already master half of my powers. If all goes well, we might not even need the emotion based ones."

"I guess," Lemmy said half heartedly. Then his face lit up. "Hey, do you have any advice on how to get angry?"

Ludwig looked embarrassed.

"Well, there is one thought that I have. But...it's not gonna help you.".

"You don't know that; tell me what it is!"

Ludwig took a deep breath.

"Okay. Well, when I'm in a fight and I need to get angry...every once in a while I'll...think of you."

"Me?" Lemmy asked in surprise. "Oh."

There was a moment of silence. The two were refusing to make eye contact.

"Am I...doing anything in particular?" Lemmy asked.

"No, you're just...kinda there."

Lemmy felt his heart sink.

"Okay."


	16. A Ghostly Battle Part 1

Chapter 16 A Ghostly Battle Part 1

The Koopalings could now see that they were floating above a beautiful city. It was right next to the water, so the air was heavy with the smell of the sea. There was also an island that had an enormous statue of Princess Peach, acting as a beacon for incoming ships. This was Toad Harbor.

Lemmy glanced over the side of the car and saw that Iggy was standing on one of the docks. The others noticed him waving at them as well, so they steered the car in that direction. When the car was parked, Lemmy jumped out ecstatically and gave Iggy a hug.

"Oh Iggy, I missed you."

"Hey Lemmy," Iggy said as he patted him on the back. Lemmy let him go and smiled at him.

"Ludwig and I trained together," he said. He took a deep breath, allowing himself to rise into the air. "Look, Iggy! I can fly!"

"Very impressive!" Iggy exclaimed with a smile. "That is bound to be useful in a fight against the duplighost!"

"Speaking of which," Roy said as he hopped out of the car, "where is he?"

Iggy gestured for everyone to follow him. Wendy, Larry, and Morton hopped out of the car and started to accompany Lemmy and Roy as they followed Iggy. Ludwig, however, stayed back in the car.

"Lemmy, wait," he called out. "I need to talk to you."

Lemmy turned and saw that Ludwig had guilt in his eyes. Lemmy hopped back in the clown car and sat beside his brother.

"What's the matter?" Lemmy asked. Ludwig let out a sigh as the guilt in his countenance increased.

"Lemmy, I am so sorry," he said.

"For what?"

"What I said earlier. About you making me angry." Ludwig shook his head. His expression gave the impression that he was mentally and emotionally struggling. "I shouldn't have said that. I don't even know why I said it; the only good that information would do would be making you feel bad."

"Ludwig, it's okay," Lemmy said reassuringly.

"Except that it isn't!" Ludwig said. He looked so guilty that tears were starting to build in his eyes. "Lemmy, I don't want you to feel bad!"

Lemmy gave Ludwig a smile.

"It's okay; I don't feel bad. In fact, if I am the reason why you are such a great fighter, then I view you thinking of me in a fight as the highest of compliments."

Ludwig stared at Lemmy in surprise. Then he smiled.

"You really are incredible," he said softly. "How you're able to take the negative and turn it on its head like that…" Ludwig chuckled. "I think that you might have to give me some training, because I would love to learn how to do that!"

Lemmy giggled.

"You're gonna have to pay me double; my schedule is booked with all of my clients."

Ludwig playfully elbowed Lemmy in the arm, causing both of them to laugh. Then he put on a determined expression.

"You ready for this nightmare to end?"

"Oh yeah!"

…

The toad who acted as the fruit stall vendor was whistling happily when he felt an icy shadow pass over his back. He turned and dropped the apple he had been polishing in shock.

"Hello," said the duplighost. The toad screamed and bolted away. The duplighost picked up one of the apples and took a bite out of it. Once he swallowed, his face fell.

"Oh that's right, I forgot. I don't have taste buds."

The duplighost threw the apple over his shoulder in a bored fashion. That was when he noticed the Koopalings in the open area of the market. He smirked.

"Oh, look who's back. Did you come to rub salt into a wound?"

"Actually," Ludwig said as he stepped forward, "we have a bone to pick with you."

The duplighost snickered.

"Ah, dang it," he said nonchalantly. "I left all my bones at the grave." Suddenly, he adorned a confused face. "Wait a minute." He looked back and forth between Lemmy and Ludwig. "Did his voice just come out of…"

Suddenly, the duplighost figured out what had happened. He opened his mouth in elation.

"No way; you guys got switched!" He fell into chortling. "Okay, that alone makes up for my loss!"

"Uh huh, I'm sure it does," Ludwig said. "Okay, now listen up, cause I'm gonna make this simple for you. You are going to put Lemmy and me back in our bodies, and if you do it quick enough, we might consider being nice!"

The duplighost pretended to consider the offer.

"Hmm. Tempting, but I kind of like you better this way. I think it would be a much better idea if you stayed like this forever!"

"We had a feeling you'd say that," iggy said. "Alright guys, get ready!"

The Koopalings all got into their fighting stances. Roy sneered at his opponent.

"We're taking you down, duplighost!"

"Duplighost?" The duplighost turned into a purple silhouette of Roy. "Who said anything about me being a duplighost?"

The duplighost threw the ball of light and Roy, causing him to scream in pain. When the light cleared, the purple silhouette of Roy had turned into a transparent version of Roy. The duplighost laughed cruelly as the actual Roy gawked.

"Hey! That's mine!" Roy said in terror.

The duplighost then directed his attention toward Wendy. He threw a punch at her, by Wendy blocked. He threw more and more punches at her until Wendy threw her ring at him. It hit him in the stomach, sending him flying into a fruit stall. The duplighost took the stall and lifted it above his head, aiming it at Morton and Iggy. He threw it, but thankfully the Koopalings were quick enough to dodge. The stall shattered into splintery pieces, and the fruit turned to mush when it hit the pavement. The duplighost directed his attention toward Ludwig.

"You wanna fly again special?" He picked Ludwig up by the mohawk. "Well I'd be happy to oblige!"

The duplighost threw Ludwig up into the air. He then turned to the terrified Larry.

"Oh! And there's an extra seat on the plane!"

He grabbed Larry by his mohawk and threw him in the same direction that he did Ludwig. Both Koopalings screamed as they went up, and their screaming grew louder once they started to plummet back toward the ground. Lemmy, who knew that he was the only one who could help, lifted one of the awning telekinetically. He flew up to his falling brothers and used the awning as a net to catch them. He brought them gently down to the ground.

"Thanks Lems," Larry said.

"No problem," Lemmy said. He then rose about two feet into the air and looked at the duplighost. Concentrating as hard as he could, he telekinetically lifted every fruit in the market. Once they were all in the air, Lemmy threw them at the duplighost. The duplighost tried to block, but it was like trying to avoid raindrops in a thunderstorm. Once he got hit in the face with a melon, the duplighost decided to run. The Koopalings followed him as he ran to the docks. Once on the marina, Roy approached his enemy angrily.

"You'd better give me my body back!"

The duplighost smiled smugly.

"As you wish," he said. He snapped his fingers, and both of them began to glow. Once they light faded, Roy examined himself happily.

"Hey! I'm me again!"

"Yes you are," said the duplighost. "And you're also about to go for a swim."

The duplighost used his magic to fling Roy into the water. He then directed his attention toward the other Koopalings.

"So long, losers." With that he started flying toward the Peach statue. Lemmy and Ludwig ran to the edge of the dock, watching fly away in horror. They saw Roy bobbing up and down in the water.

"Well, what are you guys waiting for?" Roy asked. "Go after him already!"

"Roy's right," said Iggy. "We'll find a way to catch up with you later."

Lemmy and Ludwig exchanged a look. Then Ludwig hopped onto Lemmy's back with a determined nod, and they started to chase after their opponent.


	17. A Ghostly Battle Part 2

Chapter 17 A Ghostly Battle Part 2

As they flew, their nervousness grew. This could not go wrong. This _had_ to go well. Lemmy saw the duplighost enter the door at the base of the statue, so he aimed himself downwards. When he entered the door, he saw that the statue was filled with a spiral staircase leading up to the statue's head.

"Woah," Lemmy and Ludwig said together. The staircase seemed to stretch on for miles. Up near the top, they heard the sound of a door slamming. Lemmy followed the sound and entered the door that lead to the observation room.

The observation room of the statue was filled with light that was filtering in through the statue's eyes. There was also a doorway on the back wall connecting the observation room to the museum area, and there was a balcony/second floor that one accessed via a ladder.

Lemmy and Ludwig flew right in front of the humongous, glassy windows. When Ludwig dismounted, they both heard an evil cackle come from up above. They turned around in fright, their stomachs filling with dread when they saw the duplighost.

"Well well _well_. What do we have here? Two little Koopalings completely unaccompanied by their siblings?"

An arcane blast formed in the ghost's hands. His grin grew more menacing as he threw the blast at Lemmy. Lemmy crashed through the window and started plummeting to the ground.

"LEMMY!" Ludwig yelled in shock. He raced to the window, allowing himself to see his brother. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do to save him.

"Woah ho!" said the duplighost. "Fifty percent; not too shabby!"

Ludwig turned around in horror and saw another arcane blast in the hands of his opponent.

"Let's see if I can pull that up to a _passing _grade."

Ludwig, despite the fact that he was beyond afraid, knew that he needed to act. He got into his shell and circled around the duplighost. Once he was satisfied with how dizzy he had made his opponent, Ludwig exited his shell and ran to the museum area.

…

Lemmy screamed as he fell to the ground. He could feel the wind rushing around him, he could feel surges of adrenaline rushing through his veins. Both of these factors were making him feel extremely cold.

_What am I gonna do?_ he thought. _I am going to die!_

Lemmy didn't see anyway around this. He was already accepting his untimely demise when he remembered that he had the ability to fly. In his terror he had temporarily forgotten.

_Okay Lemmy, take a deep breath,_

Lemmy did just that. When he let it out, he could feel his descent start to slow down. He let out another breath, and this time he stopped, levitating about a foot off the ground.

"Haha! Yes, I did it!"

Then Lemmy let out a little gasp. He looked up at the windows.

"Ludwig…" With that, he flew upward.

….

Ludwig hid behind one of the pedestals. His heart was beating so loudly in his chest that he was paranoid that the duplighost heard it.

"Come on out, special! You're just prolonging the inevitable."

Ludwig's breathing slowed to a halt as the duplighost walked past his hiding place. He did not move until he felt the icy chill of the ghost's presence pass by. He peeked out and saw that the duplighost's back was turned.

_What am I going to do?_

Suddenly, Ludwig spotted a coin at his foot. He picked it up and threw it into the second room that made up the museum area. The duplighost smirked evilly as he made his way over there. Ludwig let out a sigh of relief and ran back into the observation room. He decided to hide on the balcony, as that was the least likely place for his opponent to check. He climbed his way up the ladder and crawled his way across the floor.

"Hello there."

Ludwig gasped in fright when the duplighost appeared right in front of him. The duplighost kicked Ludwig over the edge. Ludwig screamed, but right before he hit the floor the duplighost stopped him using magic. The duplighost sneered at him just as Lemmy flew in through the window.

"How does it feel?" the duplighost asked as Ludwig struggled in pain to get free. "Being reduced from one of the most powerful koopas in your kingdom to a rainbow haired midget?"

"That 'rainbow haired midget' is my brother!" Ludwig said. "So you had better shut your mouth!"

Lemmy smiled at this statement. That is until the duplighost tightened his hold. Lemmy gasped in horror as Ludwig struggled and gasped for air.

"Well. I guess even specials need to die eventually," said the duplighost. "And I am beyond honored that I am the one responsible for _your_ death."

Lemmy felt anger boiling up inside him.

"NOOO!" he screamed. Blue fire danced around his hands, which he threw at the duplighost. Ludwig was released as the duplighost was sent flying backwards.

"Leave him alone!" Lemmy yelled. "Or you're going to experience a second death!"

The duplighost chuckled.

"Oh, cool your jets. Look, if your body means that much to you, I'll find a way to get it back to you once I'm done."

"You really think I care about the stupid _body_?!"

Lemmy flew a barrage of fireballs at his opponent, but the duplighost dodged. Then he flew up into the air and fired a beam of dark energy at Lemmy. Lemmy dodged and threw an electric bolt, which sent the duplighost flying toward the ground. Lemmy slowly floated downwards, and when his feet touched the floor the flames around him vanished. He turned to Ludwig.

"Are you okay?" he asked. Ludwig stared at him in shock.

"Lemmy...you saved me. You just...you just used pyrokinesis!"

"I did?" Lemmy asked. He examined his hands, a smile growing on his face. "You're right! Oh Ludwig, I did it!"

Lemmy wrapped Ludwig in a hug. Ludwig smiled up at him when he was let go.

"Yes, you did it."

Ludwig turned in horror when he heard the duplighost speak up. Their opponent turned into a purple shadow version of Ludwig once again.

"Unfortunatey, you didn't do it well enough."

The duplighost aimed the ball of light at Lemmy. Lemmy squirmed as the duplighost pulled him forward. Ludwig gawked in shock as the duplighost cackled.

"You guys were lucky to escape before," said the duplighost. "But this time, there is absolutely no escape!"

Suddenly, Ludwig didn't care about getting his body back. All that he cared about was saving Lemmy. So, Ludwig jumped into the magical field. The duplighost screamed in pain as a bright light filled the room. When it cleared, the duplighost was gone, and Lemmy and Ludwig laid on the floor. Ludwig lifted his head and gasped when he looked at his brother.

"Lemmy?"

"Ludwig?"

Ludwig began examining himself. He saw that he was wearing his blue cloak.

"I'm me again," he said softly. He felt his face and hair, and a joyous smile spread across his face. "Oh thank Miyamoto, I'm me again!"

Lemmy, who was also back to normal, wrapped his older brother in a hug.

"Thanks for saving me," said Lemmy.

"Right back at you," Ludwig said. "You did a good job."

Lemmy smiled and held on tighter. Ludwig chuckled.

"You know, they say you don't really know a man until you've walked a mile in his shoes. Well Lemmy, you and I have circumnavigated the globe."

Lemmy's smile got brighter. Then they heard their siblings enter the door.

"What happened?" asked Iggy.

Ludwig and Lemmy stood up, reaching wearing a smile. Iggy pointed at Ludwig.

"Who are you?"

"What kind of question is that Iggy?" Ludwig said playfully. "Can't recognize your own brother?"

Iggy smiled. The others did the same.

"You're back to normal!" Larry exclaimed.

"How do you guys feel now?" asked Wendy. Ludwig let out a happy breath.

"I have literally never been so happy."

"Me neither," said Lemmy. "I never realized how much I liked being me until I wasn't."

Ludwig nodded.

"Yeah, that pretty much sums it up." He took a deep breath and rose into the air. He chuckled happily. "Oh yeah, I am back!"

"Okay," said Iggy. "Let's hop in the Clown Car and get home."

"What?" asked Ludwig. "I just spent the better part of two days in Lemmy's body, and now that I'm finally back in my own you want me to take the clown car home? Oh no, I'm actually going to enjoy being a special for a change."

Ludwig flew to the window and grinned at his siblings.

"Well, see you back at the castle!"

**AN: This is not the end! There is one more chapter after this, so stay tuned!**


	18. A New Song

Chapter 18 A New Song

Ludwig flew back to the castle gleefully. He made sure to soak in every sight, every sound, and every sensation. He had a hunch that he could use that stuff as inspiration for a symphony later.

Ludwig sped up when he saw the sight of the Castle. He entered through the window of the east wing's second floor hallway. When his feet touched the ground, he sighed contently.

"I am never taking my body for granted again," he said to himself.

Ludwig looked around the hallway. Everything was how it was supposed to be, from the light coming in from the windows to the soft red carpet beneath his bare feet. He smiled when he saw Tortuga and Shelldon walking his way.

"Hey guys!" he said happily.

"Oh! Hello Master Ludwig," said Shelldon.

"How are you this morning?" asked Tortuga. Ludwig laughed.

"I am doing swimmingly!"

Tortuga gave Ludwig a funny look.

"Swimmingly?" she asked.

"Isn't that a word that Lemmy uses?" Shelldon asked with a chuckle.

"It is indeed!" Ludwig said. Shelldon smiled.

"It looks like Lemmy is starting to rub off on you. I believe you two sharing a room was a good choice on Bowser's part."

Ludwig snickered.

"Oh Lemonade and I have shared more than just a room!" Suddenly, the eldest Koopaling let out a yawn. Tortuga grinned.

"We'll let you get some rest, Master Ludwig," she said compassionately. "It seems that you need it."

Shelldon and Tortuga resumed with their walk down the hallway. Ludwig decided that rest was a good idea. Now that all of the excitement was over, he realized just how tired he was. So, he went into his room. He stepped in front of the mirror and grinned at his reflection.

"Oh man, I missed this," Ludwig said. His appearance was far from the standards that he usually adhered to. There were baggy, dark circles under his eyes, and his hair was slightly messed up. Nevertheless, Ludwig was happy to be himself again.

"Beautiful hair? Check." Ludwig put his hand on the jasper of his cloak and held onto it tightly. "Blue cloak? Check."

Ludwig turned toward Lemmy's bed. He used his telekinesis to lift one of the sock monkeys into the air.

"Powers in tact? Check." Ludwig set the toy back down. "Yep. I am definitely me again."

With a grin saturated with joy, Ludwig got into his bed and started on his long overdue nap.

…

Ludwig woke up with ease. He checked his clock and saw that he had been sleeping for about three hours. He heard the door open and grinned ecstatically when he saw Lemmy.

"Hey!"

"Hi!" Lemmy said. "We just got back. How are you doing, Ludwig?"

"Great!" Ludwig said. "How about you?"

"Me too!" said Lemmy. "I'm glad we're back to normal."

"Oh me too. I mean Lemmy, I love you, but I do not love _being_ you."

Lemmy and Ludwig laughed together. Then Lemmy let out a sigh.

"I am going to miss flying though."

Ludwig looked at him sympathetically.

"Don't worry. If you want I can take you flying sometime later."

Lemmy beamed.

"Thanks Luddy!" He crawled into his bed and got under the covers. Ludwig was just about to let him sleep when an idea crossed his mind.

"Hey Lems?"

Lemmy sat up eagerly so he could listen.

"I've been thinking. I've never gotten the opportunity to write a song with you, or anybody else for that matter. To be honest, I think the reason was because I thought I didn't need any help."

Ludwig smiled slightly. "But...you were an amazing help to me last night. I don't think that I could have handled the swap without you."

Lemmy eyed him curiously.

"What are you saying?" he asked. Ludwig's smile grew brighter.

"Lemmy, would you want to wite a song with me?"

Lemmy's face morphed into a jubilant expression.

"I would love too!" He then yawned. "Later."

Ludwig giggled.

"Of course." He pulled up the cover of his own bed. "Sweet dreams, Lemmy."

Ludwig closed his eyes. He was just about to drift off when he heard Lemmy speak up.

"Ludwig?"

"Yes Lems?"

"We just did the impossible."

"How so?"

Lemmy beamed brightly.

"We came back from the dead."

**AN: Well, I gotta say, I think I have finally written this story in a way that I am happy with. Which version of Soul Swap do you guys like best? **

**Oh, and the continuity from this story is going to carry into the other ones. If anything, you can think of the original as a first draft.**

**Now, this is the first story I've written that has had a review on every chapter so far. I just want to say thank you to all who have reviewed; it really means a lot and I appreciate the support. Now, let's move onto the shoutouts. Thank you to TheGhostlyRobot for favoriting and Hip Neptune, LethalLemon, and LePurpleJoy for favoriting and following. I'll see you next time :)**


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